Is it really getting windier?
Some weeks are not too bad, but have you noticed all the wind we've been getting?
I've been hearing from many of you, from every corner of the region, with questions about the wind.
This email came recently: “… I have a question. I live on Hubbards Cove; the wind comes directly at our property from anywhere north to west. I have noticed, I believe considerably more so than in the past, that this year we seem to have stronger winds, that is to say, strong, cold winds, just about every day.
While the thermometer outside my kitchen window (facing a hill and to the southeast) may tell me the temperature is 10 to 15C, going for a walk down to Hubbards Beach, as I do every day, the wind seems to always be there and makes it a very cold walk. Talking to others from Ontario to Newfoundland, my sons tell me they have the same circumstance.
My question: is this, seemingly, full-time wind here to stay? Is it a manifestation of global warming? Or, at 78, am I just getting too old???
Love to get your perspective and professional opinion.
Cheers and thanks, keep up the great work.” - Peter McCreath, Hubbards, N.S.
Recent number-crunching dispels the water cooler conversations of how much windier the region is getting. Some might say perception is reality, but the numbers don't lie.
I looked back over the past 60 years and found a recent lull in our wind.
There is no disputing the fact that during the past few years, the wind has been quite strong, but not compared to the past decades.
Maximum hourly wind speeds for each month, with very few exceptions, were set in the mid-70s across the Maritimes; keep in mind these are not two-minute wind gusts.
I noticed two significant periods of strongest sustained winds for Newfoundland and Labrador. The first was in the late 50s; the second in the mid-70s.
During the past few decades, the numbers have been up and down; there hasn't been any real trend that we can hang our hats on.
Now, this leads us to the topic of climate change and one of its hallmarks: more severe weather events. Intense storms fuelled by higher levels of latent energy in the warmer waters off our coasts will undoubtedly result in stronger pressure gradients and stronger winds.
It’s not yet clear if climate change will indeed produce a pattern in our wind data. In the meantime, it appears to be a cycle.
Have a weather question, photo or drawing to share with Cindy Day? Email weathermail@weatherbyday.ca