A Climatology of Cold-Season Nonconvective Wind Events in the Great Lakes Region

• Published in: Journal of climate Vol. 20; no. 24; pp. 6012 - 6022
• Main Authors: Lacke, Matthew C., Knox, John A., Frye, John D., Stewart, Alan E., Durkee, Joshua D., Fuhrmann, Christopher M., Dillingham, Sarah M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA American Meteorological Society 15.12.2007
• Subjects: Climate; Climatology; Cold regions; Crop damage; Cyclones; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Geographic regions; Lakes; Meteorology; Quadrants; Sea level; Seasons; Storm damage; Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms; Surface roughness; Systems development; Wind; Wind direction; Wind velocity; Winter; Great Lakes region; Great Lakes; North America, Great Lakes; time series analysis; Climatology; Severe weather warning; Wind field; Severe weather; Occurrence frequency; 1950-2000; Wind velocity; Observation data; North America; Gust; storms
• ISSN: 0894-8755; 1520-0442
• DOI: 10.1175/2007JCLI1750.1

A 44-yr climatology of nonconvective wind events (NCWEs) for the Great Lakes region has been created using hourly wind data for 38 first-order weather stations during the months of November through April. The data were analyzed in terms of the two National Weather Service (NWS) criteria for a high-wind watch or warning: sustained winds of at least 18 m s−1for at least 1 h or a wind gust of at least 26 m s−1for any duration. The results indicate a pronounced southwest quadrant directional preference for nonconvective high winds in this region. Between 70% and 76% of all occurrences that satisfied the NWS criteria for NCWEs were associated with wind directions from 180° through 270°. Within the southwest quadrant, the west-southwest direction is preferred, with 14%–35% of all NCWEs coming from this particular compass heading. This directional preference is borne out in five out of six stations with high occurrences of cold-season NCWEs (Buffalo, New York; Dayton, Ohio; Lansing, Michigan; Moline, Illinois; Springfield, Illinois). Given the geographic spread of these stations, a nontopographic cause for the directional preference of cold-season NCWEs is indicated. The connection between NCWEs and low pressure systems found in this climatology and in case studies suggests that midlatitude cyclone dynamics may be a possible cause of the directional preference.