Tuesday night storm brought damaging winds for some

A fleeting storm with strong, damaging winds hit some areas of Maricopa on Tuesday night.

Posts on Facebook told stories of a trailer lifted and thrown onto a property and at least one shed blowing away in the wind.

In Homestead, a big pool duck was blown out of a backyard and into the street.

At the Maricopa Library and Cultural Center, part of the façade on the east side of the building was damaged by the winds.

In nearby Desert Passage, winds kicked up about 10:30 p.m., shaking some homes. The intense gusts lasted just a couple of minutes.

Some on Facebook called the storm event a microburst, defined by the National Weather Service as a “localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm, usually less than or equal to 2.5 miles in diameter. Microbursts can cause extensive damage at the surface, and in some instances, can be life-threatening.”

Microbursts can produce winds speeds up to 100 mph, or higher, which is equivalent to an EF-1 tornado. Such strong winds can cause major damage to homes and other structures and bring down trees.

A photo on the NWS web site, which shows a mobile home torn apart by a microburst, resembled photos of the wrecked trailer home posted on Facebook.