More Wind Than Normal … Or Not?
Several people have mentioned to me that this winter and early spring, there has been more wind than they remember from previous years. Looking at two ways of measuring the wind, this isn’t actually the case, based on my measurements.
One way of measuring wind is by the maximum wind speed recorded. So far this year at my weather station, the maximum wind gust was 29 miles per hour, and the maximum wind speed was 26 MPH, back on January 22nd. February and April recorded 26 MPH gusts, while March topped out at 25 MPH. In 2004, the maximum gust during the same three month period was 28 MPH, while in 2003, February saw 26 MPH.
Of course, these records aren’t official, and are probably lower than what would be measured if my wind gauge weren’t located halfway down my hilly street. For example, Atlanta Hartsfield airport reported 49 MPH gusts in both January and April.
A better way of measuring wind activity over time is by measuring the wind run. Wind run measures how far a parcel of air would travel if it were subject to winds recorded at a specific location. For example, if a wind speed of 10 MPH were recorded consistently over a 24 hour period, you would have a wind run of 240 miles.
In the first three months of 2005, I recorded wind runs of 1,028 miles in January, 876 miles in February, and 1,372 miles in March, for a total of 3,276 miles for the three month period. In 2004, the three month total was 4,178 miles with the windiest month being January, with 1,504 miles. In 2003, I measured 5,629 miles of wind run, with the strongest month again in January, with 2,056 miles.
So, in actuality, it seems that there has been less wind in the first three months of the year than any time in the last three years.
In the historical records department, the highest wind speed ever recorded was 231 miles per hour on April 12, 1934 at Mount Washington, New Hampshire. This spring, the record seems to be 192 MPH, recorded April 3rd at Grandfather Mountain, NC.
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