What are plough / plow winds?
Plough winds belong to a family of strong, straight-line downburst winds found preceding a thunderstorm. It was so named in the American Midwest because of its ability to flatten tall grasses as it passed. Inside a severe thunderstorm, there are both updrafts and downdrafts of air. The downdrafts rush to the ground with great force, most between 100 to 150 km/h but a few have been higher. When they strike the ground, the air spreads horizontally in a burst of wind. Plough winds can blow continuously but the damage is usually confined to an area less than 3 km across. They are capable of toppling trees, ripping apart buildings and lifting roofs. In fact, plough winds and other downbursts may be responsible for some damage attributed to tornadoes. They are more common than tornadoes and have the power of a weak tornado, but the damage pattern looks different – a circular or semi-circular swath left by tornadoes and a starburst or more commonly a straight-line pattern from downbursts.
