Wind Shear Characterization.

A brief review of the major causes of severe low-level wind shear indicates that the thunderstorm gust front is the most dangerous source of potential aircraft accidents. The study contains the analysis of several gust-front events in detail using meteorological tower, acoustic echo sounder, and pressure sensor data. The results were compared with theoretical models and laboratory studies. Analyses show that gust fronts can probably be detected reliably with a suitable array of different ground-based sensors. However, the determination of wind-shear severity is a more difficult problem. The results thus far show a promising relationship between the gust-front speed of motion and maximum shear.