Short blasts can refer to a variety of things, such as gusts of wind or explosions. In this case, the crossword solutions for the term 'short blasts' are GUSTS (5 letters) and TNT (3 letters). GUSTS is an acronym for 'Gusts of Unsteady Surface Turbulence, ' which is a type of wind that is characterized by sudden, strong bursts of air. TNT, on the other hand, stands for 'Trinitrotoluene, ' which is a chemical compound used in explosives.