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If the INITIAL direction is parallel or toward the runner's endline it's a backward pass. There's no such thing as a "lateral" in officiating terms. If the ball hits the ground and the pass is forward it should be blown dead and ruled incomplete. If the defense recovers they simply recover a dead ball. If the pass is backward as per definition the official should not blow the whistle. Either team may recover and advance in this situation. If the official does blow the whistle **during backward pass then the whistle is inadvertent and IW rules come into play.
** - A backward pass doesn't end until it is caught, recovered, or is out of bounds.
So, if the runner throws the backward pass (initial direction) and the ball ends up going forward due to a heavy wind it's still considered a backward pass.
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