Last night, Northern Utah received a high wind warning that will stay until the end of the day, today. Some wind gusts can range from 30mph to 98mph. Yesterday it was sunny, warm, and not terribly windy. Where did this wind come from?
What is wind?
To put it simply, wind is the motion of air molecules. Air molecules include nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, and other elements. In order for wind to be wind it must have air and air pressure.
What does air pressure do?
In the air, molecules are moving around quickly and bumping into each other. By definition, air pressure is “the amount of force that these molecules impart on a given area.”Now, you’re probably thinking that I haven’t answered the question yet, and you have no clue why I brought up molecules with air pressure. Well, the more molecules that are presently in the air, increases the air pressure in a specific area. The reason why air pressure is so important in wind is because “changes in air pressure over a specified horizontal distance cause air molecules from the region of relatively high air pressure to rush toward the area of low pressure.” In other words, with the change in air pressure air molecules that are in high pressure areas rush to areas with low pressure. Which causes wind.
Types of wind.
There are three main types of wind flow. Thermal wind balance, the jet stream, and local winds. All three of these winds can affect the weather, atmosphere, and much more.
Thermal Wind Balance.
To put it simply, thermal wind balance is the pushing of sun-warmed air from the equator to the poles.This affects the temperatures close to the equator and areas closer to the poles. Without thermal wind balance, almost all areas around the equator would have a layer of ice and the areas where the equator hits would be a furnace.
Jet Stream
Jet streams are snake-like currents or winds that blow from west to east across the globe circulating warm and cold air. Jet streams form when cold air masses and hot air masses meet in the atmosphere.
Local Winds
Local winds happen every day. They are what move currents down streams, they rush waves into the shoreline, and they may or may not affect that bad shot you made while playing basketball outside. Local winds also cause thunderstorms or wind storms like we are currently having. These local winds cause thunderstorms by colliding simple breezes and convergent winds. “These colliding air masses force pockets of moist air high up into the atmosphere, forming thunderstorms.”
Wind can be a burden or a blessing, but it is nice to know where it comes from and what causes windy storms like today.