Rodrigo Maranon Geography 1 PCC Spring 2016

Windspeed Data Pulled via USGS National Map Viewer

Wind Speed Data Los Angeles County

This data set shows wind speed in MPH in the greater L.A. County and out to S. California. As the data legend suggests,
the current wind speed data as pulled from USGS records shows a southerly wind flow with speeds between 12-20 MPH.
Some outliers show a SE wind direction and an occasional northerly wind. Whats most notable to L.A. County are the
Santa Ana Winds that prove to be a scourge during the summer and fall months and often lead to Southern Californias
fire season. With us currently being in the spring, the wind speed, wind direction and temperature that were currently
experiencing is typical of how a Santa Ana condition would occur. The normal southerly and southeasterly wind
direction were seeing here will begin to turn towards the shore line and directly into L.A County.
With the summer months coming to an end, the desert air over the great basin in Nevada is relatively cool. As high
pressure begins to build up, the cold air will sink and forced downslope which will in turn compress it and cause is to
warm at a rate of about 29 degrees per mile of descent. Once the temperature begins to rise, the humidity drops and
what results is a dry air that dries even further as the wind pushes it towards the coast and towards sea level.
The Santa Anas turn into a fast and hot wind that is always associated with aiding and prolonging the fire season. The
high speeds of the wind are caused with its travel through narrow canyons and passes on its way out of the desert. Such
erratic speeds can cause the wind to change direction unexpectedly and often cause problems for drivers on the roads
and for planes in the air.
If we were to explore this map during the fall, we would see the data change from yellow arrows signifying calm winds
to more orange and possible red arrows. The direction of the winds would also change to point towards the coast.

Rodrigo Maranon Geography 1 PCC Spring 2016

Windspeed Data Continental USA

The data set present here shows the direction and windspeed across the continental United States. As clearly seen, a lot
of the more extreme weather associated with wind activity and windspeed across the U.S occurs in the midwest and
east coast. The East coast can be seen as having southerly winds that can be linked to the rain and snow of the Winter
and Spring seasons caused by Noreaster Storms.
As the same suggests, the wind is blown in from the northeastern part of the continent and brings with it inclement
weather well through April. The cold artctic air is blown south during the winter months and across Canada and the U.S.
towards the Atlantic ocean where it will meet warm air thats blow in and North from the Gulf of Mexico. The warm
waters of the gulf stream will also help to heat up the cold air and thus cause the storms due to the difference in
temperature.
The current map shows the latter stages of the Noreaster season where the wind has finally slowed down and the
weather is making its way down the coast as oppose to up from the lower lattitudes.
Another notable callout from this map are the high speeds of 40+ MPH winds that patrol the midwest and whats know
as Tornado Alley. Here, winds pushing east over the rocky mountains will meet winds pushing North up from the Gulf
of Mexico resulting in a perfect mixture of low level conditions to cause some of the deadliest tornadoes on the face of
the earth. The conditions we currenly see are what will lead up to our tornado season that runs from March and well
into June. If we were to check back in a couple of weeks, the arrows present would be mostly red across the corridor.

Rodrigo Maranon Geography 1 PCC Spring 2016

The windspeeds and directions we see in this data set are consistent with what we understand as the global wind
patterns. The Westerlies will blow across Western Europe and and United States and orginate from the west and
pushing usually towards the north. While the trade winds that hug the 30 degree latitudes will blow in from the
northeast and towards the equator.

Annotation Sources:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter/noreaster.shtml
http://people.atmos.ucla.edu/fovell/ASother/mm5/SantaAna/winds.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/severe-storm-expert-on-powerful-tornado-in-moore-oklahoma/