Yes, it has been windier in North Texas. Here’s why.
No, it’s not just you, it has been windier in North Texas this spring, says the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. In fact, it’s the windiest April since 1963.
Wind speeds this April have averaged 3 mph more than normal.
Here’s how this year’s wind compares to normal, and why we’re seeing so much wind in the first place, according to an NWS Fort Worth expert.
How does this year’s wind compare to past years?
Spring is the windiest time of year, with March and April having the highest average wind speeds. April wind is 12.2 miles per hour on average, and March wind is 12.1 mph.
“So it’s a time of year when it’s still cold up north, we can still get cold fronts, but we’re heading into the warm season, there’s warm air moving into Texas, lots of moisture, and of course we’ve had a lot of severe weather so far this year,” said Daniel Huckaby, a meteorologist with NWS Fort Worth. “It’s a time of year we call in climatology a transition season. So between winter and summer, there tends to be a lot of action, a lot of temperature difference and pressure difference from cold up north and the warm down south. It just leads to windy conditions in general, but it has been windier than normal this spring.”
This year, wind speeds averaged 12.4 in March and 15.2 in April. While the month isn’t over, it’s on track to be “one of the windiest Aprils” on record, Huckaby said.
Why is it so windy?
While this month is typically windier, more cold air intrusions into the U.S. have caused even higher winds. When there’s a clash of air masses, with cold air up north and the warm air coming from the tropics, the result is enhanced winds, as well as severe weather like the North Texas tornadoes. This year, snowstorms in the Northeast have contributed to that clash.
“All that kind of kind of plays into it — it just takes a few events to really ramp up that wind the way we’ve seen,” Huckaby said.
What’s the windiest April on record?
The windiest April on record was 1951, when wind speeds averaged 17.2 mph. We likely won’t get to that point in 2022, however, Huckaby says.
How long have we had high winds?
From March 1 through April 20, 23 days had an average wind speed of at least 15 miles per hour. That’s the most since 2011, when there were 29 high wind days in the same period. That year, the average wind speed in April was 14.8 mph.
How long will it be windy?
Brace yourself for high winds at least the next few days, including through the weekend. Winds 15-25 mph and gusts up to 30-35 mph were expected for both Thursday and Friday afternoons.
Huckaby says we’ll likely have some more breezy days this month. But it should get less windy as the windiest month of the year comes to a close.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 4:50 PM.
