The wind machine is cranked on full blast this week bringing down trees and power lines, as well as flipping over semi trucks. While we’ve seen a peak wind gust of 75 miles per hour at the Reno Airport on Monday this is not as strong as it could be. In January of 1988 the Reno Airport clocked a wind gust of 90 miles per hour. Squaw also reached 110 miles per hour on Monday. In 2017 the wind there maxed out around 200 miles per hour. Regardless, it’s been a windy week with several days of strong winds. Places to the south like Arrowcreek and Washoe Valley saw gusts in the 80’s.Â
Downslope winds can create a lot of damage in the valley and can really increase our wind speed. How it acts is a lot like pumping the breaks on your car. The more you pump your breaks the hotter they get. This is what’s happening this week. The wind generally coming from the west, goes over the top of the mountains, and compresses the air on the other side. As it compresses the air, wind speeds increases, the air gets drier, and temperatures go up.
With all of that happening in the valley, it means that the snow stays up in the mountains and we struggle to get precipitation down low. The air is also less dense aloft and less dense air is easier to move. The mountains are usually windier mainly because of the lack of friction on either side.
Living in a mountainous area also creates more canyons and channels for the wind to move through. Wind is created by differences in pressure and when you try to fit a lot of air through a small space like through a door the wind usually gets stronger. If the wind is strong enough it can cause some damage. So while you might be tired of the snow you might not be a fan of strong winds either.Â
