What causes straight line winds and how

can you recognize them on a radar?

Staright line winds a basicaly a downburst. They are caused by significantly rain cooled air that, after hitting ground level spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Straight line winds are also know as thundergusts and hurricanes on the prairuie. The winds can be as strong as a tornado. Straight line winds are produced in the downdraft momentum of the downdraft region of the thunderstorm. Whenever there is a strong updraft or downdraft the storm starts producing straight line winds.

     The picture above is a photo of a radar screen. Along the front of the storm line you can see a light blue line and then a green line in front of the yellow area. If in front of the main storm is a skinny light blue line, that means there are straight line winds along the line. The most intense part of the storm is red so the straight line winds occur before the intense section of the storm.