Background:

Wind speed and direction are among the many variables meteorologists track when watching the weather. The speed and direction of the wind can provide important clues about the weather and even play a role in predicting future conditions. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, south winds usually bring warm air, while north winds usually bring cool air. In the eastern United States, east winds bring moist air, west winds bring dry air, and the opposite is true in the West. Some of the windiest cities in the United States are in the Great Plains. Weather station equipment can be used to help with online monitoring.JXCT’s anemometer can also help with inlet wind speed monitoring

How do you measure wind speed?

Wind speed is a measure of how fast the wind is moving. In the US and UK, it is measured in miles per hour and elsewhere in kilometers per hour. In maritime and aviation applications, it is in knots. A knot is equal to 1 nautical mile per hour, or 1.852 km/h (about 1.15078 MPH) to be exact.

It’s important to stress here that the wind speed you see in the overnight forecast is not an accurate wind speed at any given time. This is the average wind speed over the past two minutes, calculated from 24 five-second averages. In other words, the reported wind speed is never the exact wind speed. To add to your confusion, the predicted sustained wind speed in a hurricane is actually a one-minute average!

The National Weather Service issues warnings for particularly strong winds. There are several different types, including :

1.Wind Warning: Issued when sustained winds are 31 to 39 MPH or longer and/or gusts are 46 to 57 MPH or longer.

2.Strong Wind watch: May be issued when sustained winds of 40 MPH or higher or gusts of 58 MPH or higher are sustained for an hour or more.

3.Strong Wind Warning: Issued when sustained winds are 40 miles per hour or higher and for a duration of 58 miles per hour or higher.

4.Extreme Wind Warning: Issued when a non-tornado weather event (Dredge, hurricane, etc.) is expected to have sustained winds of 115 MPH or greater within an hour.

So how do you measure wind speed?

The instruments we use are called anemometers, and there are two main types.

Cup anemometer

Cup anemometer is a traditional instrument for measuring wind speed. It consists of three or four tapered or hemispherical cups that are placed on their sides and attached to a central mast that can rotate freely. When the wind blows, the cups spin, and the number of times they spin is measured in one minute and converted to wind speed. Traditionally, meteorologists have had to make this count, which is sometimes difficult to do in windy conditions. Now, the computer can calculate the rotation and do the calculations for us, simplifying the process.

A cup anemometer used to measure wind speed

Sonic anemometer

Some professional and home weather stations use sonic anemometers to measure wind. They are often placed in extreme environments because they have no moving parts. Due to the lack of moving parts, maintenance costs are minimized and they are more durable in severe weather conditions, such as salty air and dust, than traditional cup anemometers. Acoustic anemometers measure wind speed and direction by measuring the size of sound waves

Conclusion

Wind speed and direction are an important weather measurement that is often overlooked. Most people are simply worried about whether it’s hot or cold and whether it’s sunny or rainy. Measuring the wind helps meteorologists forecast those weather conditions because the movement of air brings with it changes in temperature, and pushes storms along the earth’s surface.