Microburst Events in a Mountain Desert Environment

Microburst winds represent high-impact weather events that require continued investigation in order to improve analysis and prediction of such events. In this study, microburst events, defined as wind gusts equal to or exceeding 16 m/s (35 mph), were selected from archival files. Microburst phenomena were examined from an array of 26 Surface Atmospheric Measurement System (SAMS) stations at Dugway Proving Ground (DPG). SAMS sensors were mounted at 10 m above ground level (AGL) for wind speed and direction and at 2 m AGL for temperature, relative humidity, and pressure. Measurements were made once per second and averaged over 5-min intervals. Maximum, minimum, and average values for each variable were transmitted by radio to a central processing unit for operational applications and archival. Results are presented for seasonal and diurnal occurrences of microbursts at DPG. Microburst activity is investigated in detail for July 2006, when these events occurred on more than half of the days, to help define their temporal and spatial characteristics.