Wet microburst. Photo #1. Circa 1980. No location given. Wet microbursts are downbursts accompanied by significant precipitation at the surface which are warmer than their environment. These downbursts rely more on the drag of precipitation for downward acceleration of parcels than negative buoyancy which tend to drive "dry" microbursts. As a result, higher mixing ratios are necessary for these downbursts to form. Melting of ice, particularly hail, appears to play an important role in downburst formation. These factors, among others, make forecasting wet microbursts a difficult task.