Wind gust 

Description

Palm TreesWind is the natural flow of gases on a large scale. On earth the this means the movement of air. Wind is caused by differences in the atmospheric (or barometric ) pressure. When a difference in pressure exists, air moves from the higher to the lower pressure area, resulting in wind. Because of the rotation of the earth, air will also be deflected by the Coriolis effect, except exactly on the equator.

In our area, wind is also affected by sea breezes. The ocean is warmed by the sun more slowly because of water's greater specific heat compared to land. As the temperature of the land rises, the land heats the air above it by conduction. The warm air is less dense than the surrounding air, and so it rises. The cooler air above the sea flows inland, creating a cooler breeze near the coast.  Sea breezes only occur when the prevailing winds are low and are usually more pronounced in our area during the winter months when the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico is relativity cold compared to the land.

RECON reports wind gust as the maximum wind speed that occurred during the sampling interval, which in most cases for us is every 15 minutes. Gusts are reported in Miles per Hour (mph) or Meters per Second (m/s).