Wind speed

[Toolman]

Any one know the measured windpeed last night? Gust's were pretty significant as are this morning.

[BPSquirrel]

BP had gusts of 45 mph registered on the RAWS, here is the link to it

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=BPNC1&time=GMT

winds here in the valley have exceeded that last night and this morning, I woke up to a huge metal crash outside. If it hadn't of been for the Euc tree outside of my bedroom the old HUGE metal satilite dish that is laying in our backyard would have come through the slider!!!

[Wildman]

Gusts of 57 mph at Mountain Top.  Feels like the house is moving sideways!

[SkierBob]

Gusts of 57 mph at Mountain Top.  Feels like the house is moving sideways!

How about 75mph? 

Everything around here that could blow away,, already has a  long time ago.

[North_Star]

[BostonBob]

As unnerving as this wind has been up here, it could always be worse. Earlier today on the Skywarn Net, I heard that two trees had blown down in Big Bear, at least one of which fell onto a house.

[Nolena]

RobertW would never let that happen here.

[mechanicalpencil]

The 2 large pine trees in front of Phelan Elementary came down today across Phelan Road.  CHP had the road down to one lane eastbound as the crews were cutting up and removing the trees. 

[treehugger]

I had 32mph @ 11:39 pm last night, 34mph @ 12:50 pm today. My wind numbers are are usually low, as there is a tree pretty close to the gauge.

[Ken]

RobertW - I have a question and this seems as good a place as any to ask.

What causes wind gusts? I understand, or at least I hope I understand, that wind is caused by air moving from a high pressure area to a low pressure area, but what causes the brief variations in wind speed?

[treehugger]

Ken - As I understand it, which is to say I'm no expert, gusts occur in response to changes in temperature and terrain.

[SkierBob]

I had 32mph @ 11:39 pm last night, 34mph @ 12:50 pm today. My wind numbers are are usually low, as there is a tree pretty close to the gauge.

I had sustain winds of 65+ and a gust to 86mph.  My anometer is mounted  5ft off the ground, with absolutely nothing to obstruct the wind.   I've been thinking of making a box kite out of 2x4's and flying it with a rope. 

[RobertW]

Ken - As I understand it, which is to say I'm no expert, gusts occur in response to changes in temperature and terrain.

That is correct!

It's pretty unusual for the wind to actually blow at a steady speed.
 
In fact, according to National Weather Service operating procedures, the reported speed is a two-minute average wind, which includes instantaneous winds that are both above and below the average. It's only when the peak wind is significantly above the weakest wind that "gusts" are reported.

Wind (or air in motion) is created by changes in temperature and/or pressure. Winds generally blow outward from high pressure systems toward low pressure systems. Sea breezes, however, occur when the cooler air over nearby waters blows onto warmer land. Open your refrigerator door and feel how colder air tries to displace warmer air.

If our earth were perfectly flat, the sun didn't rise or set or if pressure and temperature forces were uniform, we would find that the wind would blow in a steady stream across the planet. But obviously, that's not the case. 

The Earth's surface is peppered with hills, mountains, and tall buildings. These big objects can block the air. And the valleys and channels between them create bottlenecks, which force the wind through faster.

These changes in the character of the Earth's surface act to create small variations in winds; these are called eddies. When winds of different speeds blow adjacent to each other, the wind shear pattern changes winds even more.

The sun also stirs things up. That's because it often warms up neighboring areas unevenly -- for instance, because of scattered clouds. When that happens, the hot air in the sunny spots rises, and the cool, shaded air rushes in from nearby. That creates gusty drafts.

[SkierBob]

Good stuff, don't foget about the rotation of the Earth's effect on the wind.

Ken - As I understand it, which is to say I'm no expert, gusts occur in response to changes in temperature and terrain.

That is correct!

It's pretty unusual for the wind to actually blow at a steady speed.
 
In fact, according to National Weather Service operating procedures, the reported speed is a two-minute average wind, which includes instantaneous winds that are both above and below the average. It's only when the peak wind is significantly above the weakest wind that "gusts" are reported.

Wind (or air in motion) is created by changes in temperature and/or pressure. Winds generally blow outward from high pressure systems toward low pressure systems. Sea breezes, however, occur when the cooler air over nearby waters blows onto warmer land. Open your refrigerator door and feel how colder air tries to displace warmer air.

If our earth were perfectly flat, the sun didn't rise or set or if pressure and temperature forces were uniform, we would find that the wind would blow in a steady stream across the planet. But obviously, that's not the case. 

The Earth's surface is peppered with hills, mountains, and tall buildings. These big objects can block the air. And the valleys and channels between them create bottlenecks, which force the wind through faster.

These changes in the character of the Earth's surface act to create small variations in winds; these are called eddies. When winds of different speeds blow adjacent to each other, the wind shear pattern changes winds even more.

The sun also stirs things up. That's because it often warms up neighboring areas unevenly -- for instance, because of scattered clouds. When that happens, the hot air in the sunny spots rises, and the cool, shaded air rushes in from nearby. That creates gusty drafts.