subject: Wind Speeds and the Factors Affecting It [print this page] For most of you living in big cities, speed of wind is often confused with breeze and experienced mostly during rains and in case of other natural calamities. Wind speed is quite simply the speed at which wind moves in the atmosphere. The speed of wind can be measured, and have far reaching effects in our lives.
The speed of wind is important for many things like weather forecasting, flying, maritime operations, construction, etc. High speeds of wind can have unpleasant and unwanted side effects, while low wind speed is almost always welcome during hot and sticky summer months. Strong winds are referred to as gales, hurricanes, typhoons etc depending on their speed and intensity. Wind speeds are measured using an anemometer.
Factors Affecting Speed Of Wind
There are a number of factors that affect the speed of wind. Wind operates on many different scales like the micro sale to macro scale which include the pressure gradients, jet streams, Rossby waves, and local weather conditions. Using the pressure gradient, it has been found that there is connection between wind direction and wind speeds that affect most of the air surfaces globally.
Basically, pressure gradient is the method of measuring the difference in air pressure between point A and point B on the Earth's surface or the atmosphere. Pressure gradient is an important factor affecting wind speed. The more the pressure difference two points, the faster the wind. Moreover, when pressure gradient is used together with 'Coriolis Effect' and friction, the various outcomes of wind directions can be studied and understood.
