Heat burst: Map

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In meteorology, a heat burst is a rare atmospheric phenomenon characterised by gusty winds and a rapid increase in temperature and decrease in dew point (moisture). Heat bursts typically occur during night-time and are associated with decaying thunderstorms.

Although this phenomenon is not fully understood, it is theorized that the event is caused when rain evaporates (virga) into a parcel of cold dry air high in the atmosphere making the air denser than its surroundings. The parcel descends rapidly, warming due to compression, overshoots its equilibrium level and reaches the surface, similar to a downburst.

Recorded temperatures during heat bursts have reached well above , sometimes rising by 20 °F (11 °C) or more within only a few minutes. More extreme events have also been documented, where temperatures have been reported to exceed , although such extreme events have never been officially verified. Heat bursts are also characterised by extremely dry air and are sometimes associated with very strong, even damaging, winds.

Some documented cases

Buenos Aires, Argentina , October 29, 2009: After a day with extremely high and unusual temperatures that peaked over 34.4°C/93.9°F (air temperature 38.2°C/101.6°F), at late midnight temperatures rose from 31°C/87.8°F to 34.6°C/94.2°F in a matter of minutes with wind gusts over 60 kph.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa , August 3, 2009: Temperatures rose from 73°F to 84°F with wind gusts over 60 mph.
Waurika, Oklahoma , June 07, 2009: Temperatures rose from low 70s to 77°F with wind gusts to 58 mph.
Salisbury, Maryland , April 26, 2009: Temperatures rose from 77°F to 87 with wind gusts to 52 mph.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota , August 3, 2008: Temperatures rose rapidly from the lower 70s °F (21 °C) to in a matter of minutes. Winds speeds also rose with gusts up to 50-60 mph (80–100 km/h).
Cozad, Nebraska , June 26, 2008: Wind gusts reached , as the temperature rose 20 °F (11 °C) in a matter of minutes.
Midland, Texas , June 16, 2008: At 11:25 pm a wind gust of occurred, and the temperature rose from to in minutes. (These measurements were taken from miles away, and theories point to 80–100 mph (128–160 km/h) winds in a 2–3 block perimeter.)
Emporia, Kansas , 25 May 2008: Reported temperature jumped from to between 4:44 am and 5:11 am (CDT) as the result of wind activity from a slow moving thunderstorm some to the southwest.
Canby, Minnesota , 16 July, 2006: A heat burst formed in Western Minnesota , pushing Canby 's temperature to , and causing a wind gust of . The dew point fell from to over the course of one hour.
Hastings, Nebraska , 20 June, 2006: During the early morning the surface temperature abruptly increased from approximately to .
Texas Panhandle , June 3, 2002: Heat burst sends temperature from to at 3:21 am in Amarillo .
Minnesota and South Dakota , March 26, 1998: A temperature increase of 10–20 °F (6-11 °C) was reported in the towns of Marshall, Minnesota , Sioux Falls, South Dakota , Brookings, South Dakota , and Montrose, South Dakota during a two-hour period.
Oklahoma , May 22–May 23, 1996: The temperature in the towns of Chickasha rose from to in just 25 minutes, while the temperature at Ninnekah rose from to in 40 minutes. In addition, wind damage was reported as winds gusted to in Lawton , in Ninnekah, and in Chickasha.
Kopperl, Texas , 1960: A heat burst sent the air temperature to near , supposedly causing cotton crops to become desiccated and drying out vegetation.
Portugal , July 6, 1949: A heat burst reportedly drove the air temperature from to two minutes later (note that the highest temperature formally recognized on the Earth is in Libya in 1922, and the former record has not been verified).
Cherokee, Oklahoma , 11 July 1909: at 3:00 in the morning, a heat burst south of Cherokee, Oklahoma reportedly caused the temperature to rise briefly to 136 degrees Fahrenheit, desiccating crops in the area.