The American produced a near-perfect first run of 1min 4.94sec to finish 0.91 seconds clear of Canada's Larisa Yurkiw.

She then clocked a similarly impressive 1:06.23 in slightly worse conditions in the second run to finish with a combined time of 2:11.17.

This put her a full second clear of second placed Yurkiw.

Home skier Austria's Cornelia Huetter secured a bronze medal with 2:12.83.

It marked Vonn's 36th career downhill win, equalling the record held by Austria's 1980 Olympic champion Annemarie Moser-Proell. 

Vonn broke Moser-Proell's record of 62 overall World Cup wins last season and, with today marking her 72nd overall victory, she is closing in on the best men's mark of 86 held by Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark.

She has also moved within 58 points of Lara Gut's leading-haul of 658 points in the overall World Cup standings this season, with the Swiss failing to finish her first run today.

Thirty-one-year-old Vancouver 2010 champion Vonn is now 50 points clear of Huetter in the downhill standings, with her chance to extend her lead, and break Moser-Proell's record, coming in the next leg, due to take place at Cortina d'Ampezzo on January 23.

Vonn equalled Moser-Proell's overall record when winning the downhill race in the Italian resort last year before going one better with a super-G victory there the following day.

Fog and rain forced the cancellation of today's proposed men's giant slalom race in the Swiss resort of Adelboden, meanwhile, with officials eventually deeming the course unsafe for competition.

"The legs of the racers are the highest priority," said FIS race director Markus Waldner.

"This was not possible to guarantee today."

There are no plans to reschedule the race, with organisers hoping the conditions will improve enough for them to continue the planned programme and hold a slalom event tomorrow.

The women's World Cup continues in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee tomorrow with super-G.