~ W i n d ~

Wind...  Somehow it is always correctly forecasted...  Since it is fairly depressing outside today, here are some interesting "Wind" facts that will keep you inside at the computer for a little while where it is nice and calm.

- The world’s windiest place is Antarctica, where winds blow at more than 100 km/hr (62 mph) for five months of the year.

- During a wild April storm in 1934, a wind gust of 231 miles per hour (372 kilometers per hour) pushed across the summit of Mount Washington. For 62 years this wind speed stood as the all-time record surface wind speed observed by man.

- The World Meteorological Organization has confirmed that a ground-level gust of 253 1⁄2 mph was measured in Australia on April 10, 1996, during a cyclone – shattering the famous record of 231 mph set atop Mount Washington in 1934.

- One of the windiest places on Earth’s northern hemisphere is Cape Blanco in southwestern Oregon. Jutting into the Pacific Ocean near Coos Bay, Cape Blanco is both the westernmost point of Oregon and the contiguous United States. Severe winter storms often rake Cape Blanco with shrieking winds that gust up to 125 mph (200 km/h).

- The Ancient Greeks used to think that wind was the Earth breathing in and out.

- During the northern hemisphere winter, the stronger westerly winds that build up in the Northern Hemisphere, combined with frictional drag at the Earth's surface, actually produce a very small, but measurable, increase in the speed of rotation of the Earth.

Famous Winds...

• The Mistral in France – a cold, north-westerly wind that blows down the Rhone valley.
• The Harmattan in West Africa, which blows south from the Sahara and brings dust storms and very dry air.
• The Levante wind in the Mediterranean – an easterly wind bringing mild, moist air to Gibraltar and the mainland of Spain and Africa.
• The Pampero in Argentina – a very cold south westerly wind formed, like many cold winds, in the middle of a continent - in this case South America. It blows across the Pampas grasslands in Argentina.
• Another set of famous winds are known as the Roaring Forties. These are very strong westerly winds which blow almost continuously in the southern hemisphere. These fierce winds are found at a latitude of 40º - hence their name!