Microburst: a word I’d never heard before this week — but now that I’ve seen what one can do, a word I’ll remember. The Montreal Gazette calls it “an intense, rain-fuelled downdraft of air from a severe thunderstorm that slams hammer-like into the ground.” Within minutes on Tuesday, its 120 km/hour winds brought down trees and power poles across my neighbourhood, leaving us without electricity. We were very fortunate not to suffer any damage; some of our neighbours weren’t as lucky. Nothing like a reminder from Mother Nature to put things in perspective.
Kathryn Presner 
2 replies on “Microburst”
Your area sure had the worst of it!! So glad you and most everyone came through it ok in the end. Whew!
We had 1 on my birthday that took the majority of our roof. It was the gift that kept on giving there for awhile. All the insurance claims, etc, sure proved a hassle. So glad you’re ok. They’re very dangerous, & they’re always underestimated. In fact, back in TX in 1986, 1 was responsible for the deaths of folks on a Delta flight in Dallas that crashed. So yeah–definitively a force to be reckoned with. Stay safe, KP.