Ten Amazing Facts About Wind and Wind Measurement

As I look out of my window on a windy day I listen to the sounds of the wind blowing the trees and relax. But it got me thinking and wondering about what wind really is and what are some amazing facts about it. So I did a bit of research and come up with ten amazing facts about wind and wind measurement that I am sure most people will find interesting. And if you don’t like the wind facts you can enjoy the ten pictures of dogs enjoying the wind instead…

FACT: Sea breezes occur because heat from the Sun takes longer to warm the sea than the land, creating a difference in air pressure and thus creating spin and indeed wind, that is why the wind is often stronger on the coast and not because it hasn’t hit land yet.

FACT: A knot is a unit often used to measure wind speed and this even pre-dates the first sailing ships!

FACT: These days an “Anemometer” is what is used to measure wind speed and many of the modern ones can even predict it as well!

FACT: Right up until 1952 weather vanes were used to indicate wind direction and that was the only way to tell! In 1953, the windsock was invented.

FACT: Wind direction is given by the direction from which the wind comes, but that doesn’t mean it is really coming from that direction, it might just be blowing downwards in that direction to necessary from it!

FACT: Depending on their speed and strength, winds can be known as a breeze, gale, storm or hurricane!

FACT: Short bursts of wind moving at high speeds are known as gusts and these are in fact micro-explosions of gasses and air in the upper atmosphere.

FACT: The higher gasses and lower ones cause differences in air pressure and that ground air rush from high-pressure areas to lower ones!

FACT: Up in the higher atmosphere wind is the flow of gases, but down here on Earth it refers to the movement of air.

FACT: Higher winds mean more electricity, and wind turbines are tall so they can reach higher altitudes where it’s even windier, but too much wind is bad for a wind turbine! In fact, anything over 30mph winds and the turbines has to be turned off.

Do you know of any other amazing facts about wind or wind measurement? Do let us know in the comments below!