Woosh

[threemonkeys]

Its getting quite windy out there today. So windy even a Wellingtonian notices it, which I guess means its probably classified as "strong gale force".

The whole thing about Welly being so windy comes up quite often. Claims about it being one of the most windy cities in the world - if not the most windy abound. I thought I'd do a bit of research to take my mind off the fact that the power cable leading into my house has been snagged in the branches of my Pohutukawa tree. Right now, I'm not happy that I'm in one of the few places where power cables have not been moved completely underground.

This article by James Court is a good indicator of just how windy things really are here. Nice if you are a wind surfer as he is.

Its all quite complicated. What do you mean by windiest? - strongest, average speed, most gale days etc. Also, what do you mean by city - according to US figures, a place called Mt Washington (NH) has a much higher average windspeed than Welly. But it seems to be a ski resort on top of a mountain. Does that compare to a city?

Just by the way - Chicago does not really rate as a windy city. It got the nickname for the volumes of hot air coming from its supporters' mouths.

Since I started writing, it has started raining and so the wind speed seems to have dropped to a much more comfortable gale force.

Comments

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

I remember reading a list of windy cities, which had Wellington as No 1, Perth as No 2, and Chicago as No 4. I don't know what criteria it used, and Chicago doesn't seem to have the semi-permanent wind-tunnels that Perth does, but trust me, if you've been in Chicago when the wind comes off the lake, you'll know how it earned its nickname: the windchill is a killer.

That said, I've never been up to the top of the Sears Tower, because the wind has never managed to blow away all of the smog on days I've been there.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Chicago does seem to be quite a windy place but other cities such as Boston & New York have higher average wind speed. I know what you are saying though, I certainly wouldn't want to be in any of those great lake cities in winter when a wind in coming off the lake. *shudder*

On a positive thought, the wind here has dropped down to a gentle breeze now.

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

a place called Mt Washington (NH) has a much higher average windspeed than Welly.

Which I knew due to Julian May's Saga of the Exiles series.

See - fandom is good for your brain!