If you went out at all on Sunday (June 28), you probably noticed the wind. As I am writing this, winds are coming out of the west at 20 mph at the South Bend Airport and gusting to 28 mph. So how would you classify those winds? Breezy? Windy? I’ll answer that in a second, but first let me give a brief description of what wind is.

Wind is nothing more than the result of pressure differences and heating across the Earth. Wind tends to flow from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. As an example, if there was high pressure over Chicago and low pressure over Detroit, winds would flow from the west toward Detroit (This is an over simplification of what is really happening…there are a number of other forces at play, which are way too complicated to get into). This difference in pressure is known as the pressure gradient force. The speed of the wind is also influenced by the strength of the pressure differences and the distance between those differences. I have attached a picture to illustrate.

Now back to the Sunday. The correct answer is breezy. Why? Well, it has to do with classification. The National Weather Service defines breezy conditions as winds between 15-25mph. As for windy days, the speed overlaps breezy slightly, but is 20-30 mph. When the winds get over 30mph, it starts to get into

Odds are you’ve heard me say something like, “winds will be breezy” during my forecasts. I’ll admit it sounds a little weird, but I am being technically right. With that said, I will try not to describe winds that way anymore.

During the winter, well, winds can do a couple of things. It can bring in some warm air to help keep things comfortable or it can make things very cold. Usually, it’s just making things very cold and we know it as wind chill.

During the summer we have thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes. These are just a few examples of the damaging powers wind can have.  However, wind can be a great comfort. It can help cool things off, especially when the temperature is getting close to 90. It can also provide great kite flying conditions!

Speaking of which, I think I will go kite flying!

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