Driver gets lucky when storm fells tree

If I had to guess, I’d say “convective-cell downburst”.

Downbursts are sort of the watery equivalent of pyroclastic flow - large column of mass injected high into atmosphere which then collapses and falls back down, accelerating to nearly-preposterous velocities as it hits the ground and sprays outward.

With pyroclastic flow, the mass is hot gas and ash, while a downburst is ■■■■■ air with occasional embedded hail.

Downbursts can cause damage similar to moderate-sized tornadoes - the two can sometimes only be distinguished after the fact by damage patterns - tornadoes blow things down in circular patterns, while downburst damage splays radially outward.

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