Those Gusty Winds...(7-2-12)
We’ve talked a lot the last couple of days about the dry and warm weather in central New York but some of you are probably wondering what is the deal with all the wind. It may not be as gusty as some of the days during the cold season but it has been rather consistent as borne out by highest gusts over the last week:| Day | Highest Gust |
| Monday June 25 | 25 mph |
| Tuesday June 26 | 25 mph |
| Wednesday June 27 | 29 mph |
| Thursday June 28 | 15 mph |
| Friday June 29 | 23 mph |
| Saturday June 30 | 24 mph |
| Sunday July 1 | 22 mph |
| Monday July 2 | 27 mph |
This is all tied into what is happening above us in the lower part of the atmosphere. On the northern fringe of big heat wave we have very strong jet stream winds. That’s just a function of physics. You will find the strongest winds where the greatest change in temperatures are located. That is up at the jet stream level but winds even down closer to the ground right now are stronger than normal. Here is why that is important.You may notice that over the last week the winds are calm to start the day, pick up in the middle of the day then die down around sunset. There is a good reason why. As the sun rises and begins to heat the ground, thermals are created in the lower atmosphere. How high these thermals go are a function of how high the sun is in the sky and at this point, early July, the sun is about as high as it will get during the year. Thermals this time of year can rise to 5,000 feet or greater. As those thermals rise higher they can tap into the stronger winds aloft and they are brought down to the ground. Here is a stylized look at what is going on with thermals with this ‘mixed layer’:
As you get later into the season (say by later September), the sun is lower on the horizon and the thermals in this mixed layer don’t rise as high and don’t ‘tap’ into winds that are as strong. We get a break tomorrow (Tuesday) as the winds aloft at 5,000 ft won’t be quite as strong as the past couple days. So even though the thermals will rise fairly high again we think the winds here in Syracuse might gust only between 10 and 15 mph..
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