Wind shear
![Cirrus uncinus ice crystal plumes showing high level wind shear, with changes in wind speed and direction.](/Images/godic/202501/09/Cirrus_clouds25452.jpg")
![Microburst schematic from NASA. Note the downward motion of the air until it hits ground level, then spreads outward in all directions. The wind regime in a microburst is completely opposite to a tornado.](/Images/godic/202501/09/Microburstnasa5452.JPG")
![Wind shear along the coast with low level clouds moving towards the east and higher level clouds moving towards the south-west](/Images/godic/202501/09/-20150226-08h40_to_09h45_-_JBay_-_Wind_shear.ogv5452.jpg")
![Strong wind shear in the high troposphere forms the anvil-shaped top of this mature cumulonimbus cloud, or thunderstorm.[13]](/Images/godic/202501/09/Thunderhead.anvil5452.jpg")
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal wind shear. Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with change in altitude. Horizontal wind shear is a change in wind speed with change in lateral position for a given altitude.