"Curl Near the Ground? Go Around!!"

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While very short, storm chaser Spike recorded a terrific time-lapse of a downburst's "curl" yesterday. You can view it here. 

Here is one of a sequence of photos of a downburst I took in July, 1987 -- the first of its type ever taken. 

A pronounced curl = a strong downburst = strong wind shear. If you are piloting an aircraft and you see one of these curls when readying to land to take off, please: 
Curl Near the Ground? Go Around!!

Addition: I was reminded this morning that today is the 36th anniversary of the downburst crash of Delta 191. Here is a posting I did on the 25th anniversary of that terrible event. The good news is that thanks to Dr. Ted Fujita, Dr. John McCarthy and others aviation weather was revolutionized and the downburst was conquered in the United States. 

Addition #2: A spectacular downburst video is here. Look at the curl at lower left. Violent winds and wind shear occurred. 

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