Max angle & Radar - I did sympathise (in the initial post) in terms of inaccurate pilot reporting.
The day in question was an airport north of the border but no details of the shear were available from the tower (except to say that one aircraft's windshear alert system had actually triggered).
Yes it is reported as windshear when it may actually be severe wind gradient, low level mechanical turbulence or rotors. Whatever someone chooses to call it ...it can still cause a flap overspeed (worst case severe structural damage) or stick shaker (worst case low altitude stall).
As mentioned in the initial post life threatening weather in Europe is rarer than in the US ( worst recorded windshear 80 knot loss with 90 degree change in direction)/ Africa etc but it does happen.
- 1987 RAF Hawk from Valley NW of Towyn experienced rotors with accelerations of 1.5 to 7 G. A civillian aircraft would have broken up.
- 1981 an F28 out of Amsterdam had it's wing ripped off in funnel cloud.
- In the UK there are, typically, between 18 to 30 CONFIRMED tornadoes each year...many more go unreported in remote regions.
Windshear is most likely when
- Thunderstorms are within 5 NM of the airfield
- During passage of fronts
- When there is a vector difference of 40 degrees between surface and 2,000 foot wind.
I know it is an increase to your already busy workload... but I say again please give us as much notice as early as possible.
BOAC - Boeing defines severe windshear as 15 knots or more. We are told not to go around for positive (amber warning) windshear. Can still bust the flap limit speed though.