The Las Vegas McCarran International Airport microburst of August 8, 1989

"On August 8, 1989, the Las Vegas area experienced at least two severe microbursts. The first occurred at the Henderson Sky Harbor Airport south of the city (Figure 1), with the second at McCarran International Airport minutes afterward. Wind gusts of 46 m sec-1 (90 kt) were measured at McCarran International Airport by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wind indicator at midfield. In addition, an abrupt wind shift near the end of the microburst event resulted in an approximate net change of over 67 m sec-1 (130 kt) down the active runway over a period of about five minutes. Total damage at both airports was estimated to be 14 million dollars. Approximately 82 damaged aircraft were included in this estimate. Fortunately, there were no injuries or deaths reported with either microburst. However, two aircraft did experience extreme difficulty during takeoff and landing operations during the initial phase of the McCarran micro burst"--Introduction. Carven A. Scott. Includes bibliographical references (pages 11-12). 1990 NWS (National Weather Service) WR (Western Region) Library Public Domain 1931