Most natural disasters get things named after them: water park rides, alcoholic drinks, university mascots. Or they become the subject of countless numbers of songs and poems.

So now that a damaging storm last month has placed the term “microburst” into Lawrence residents’ vocabulary, will it get a similar treatment?

It appears, based on a small survey conducted in recent days, that the chance is slim.

“I would say I have a feeling that the term ‘microburst,’ because it’s so clinical-sounding, isn’t really going to go anywhere,” said Matt Pryor, lead singer and guitarist for the Lawrence-based band The New Amsterdams. “I can’t imagine that everyone will refer to it as ‘The Great Microburst of ’06.'”

Pryor lives in East Lawrence and had a tree fall on his home during the storm, but he said he doesn’t foresee himself ever writing a “microburst” song. Neither does Steve Mason, who sings, plays violin and writes songs for the Alferd Packer Memorial String Band.

“It would be a weak word,” Mason said. “It’s kind of like singing about the horrible spring shower.”

At Free State Brewing Co., 636 Mass., employees have scribbled the word “microburst” in place of “tornado” on a set of emergency procedure signs in the back of the house, proprietor Chuck Magerl said.

But at a place that typically features beers with Kansas-themed names, there is no “Microburst Ale” on tap yet. Magerl isn’t wild about the idea.

“Beyond just the aspect of it being potentially catastrophic, it also is somewhat diminutive in its sensibilities,” Magerl said. “I haven’t quite warmed to it yet.”

Burst of destruction

The Replay Lounge, 946 Mass., had its windows broken in the storm. During a St. Patrick’s Day concert on the back patio, employees hung a sign that said, “Ain’t no microburst stopping the Replay Lounge,” but so far the name hasn’t found its way into any drink specials.

“We probably should make something up,” manager Jenny Osborn said.

Lawrence artist Ardys Ramberg designed a weather-themed mural for the side of Cottin’s Hardware & Rental, 1832 Mass., and has sculpted a tornado made of wire. She said she could imagine doing a sculpture depicting a microburst but, like many other people, she has problems with the word.

“I have used the term, but I’ve used it with irritation, because I had many friends who say they saw a funnel,” she said. “‘Micro’ kind of minimizes it to me.”

6News meteorologist Matt Sayers said the term “microburst” had been used commonly in weather circles for years. A “downburst” refers to a column of air that shoots downward quickly and spreads out in all directions when it hits the ground, he said. If the size of the downburst is 2.5 miles across or less, it’s known as a “microburst.”

Some people still refuse to believe that what happened in Lawrence last month was actually a microburst, Sayers said.

“I think everyone in town wants to call it a tornado and doesn’t believe it could cause the damage it did,” he said.