High winds in Kansas can't be blamed on Missouri

LJWorld.com weblogs Lawrence Weather Watch

Posted by Matt Miller November 24, 2009 at 3:58 p.m.

First off, let's clear the air so to speak. The wind in Kansas has nothing to do with what you might think of Nebraska and/or Oklahoma or Missouri. If you've never heard the "Do you know why Kansas is so windy?" joke, then I'll let someone else fill you in on that one.

So, what does make it so windy here if it's not caused by what some think of Nebraska? Well, it all comes down to a little force called Pressure Gradient Force (PGF). Essentially it is the difference in pressure over a change in distance — how much the pressure is changing as you move horizontally across the map. So when low and high pressure either both have very different pressure readings or if they are quite closer together, then the PGF is strong. When the PGF is strong, so are the winds.

There are more forces that act on the wind, but that is the main driving force behind it. Because of a couple other forces, air will circulate counter-clockwise and inward toward a low pressure area. We usually find the greatest PGF (strongest winds) near the low pressure areas. These areas of low pressure form around dips in the jetstreams called troughs.

In the image above, you can see that the air moves counter-clockwise and inward toward the low pressure. All of that air has to go somewhere and it is forced upward where it reaches the jetstream which helps to disperse the air away by the very strong winds. When all of that comes together with moisture you get a storm system, just like we did Monday night with the gusty winds blowing through on the backside of the system.

There is another low pressure system that will be swinging through the Midwest on Wednesday, but since this one will essentially be devoid of much moisture, we'll just get the wind...and a lot of it!

So there you have it. It turns out that Missouri might not be the cause of our wind after all.

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somedude20 (anonymous) says…

it is not Missouri's wind that bothers me rather it is their stink that seems to waft this way
November 24, 2009 at 4:05 p.m.
UNIKU (anonymous) says…

Everybody knows Missouri blows
November 24, 2009 at 4:40 p.m.
Starlight (anonymous) says…

No UNIKU you've got that backwards. Prevailing winds are from the Southwest so...
November 24, 2009 at 5:57 p.m.
hujiko (anonymous) says…

Starlight, then blame Oklahoma.
November 24, 2009 at 6:25 p.m.
OTSSweeper (anonymous) says…

This alternative theory is hard to swallow.
November 24, 2009 at 6:49 p.m.
del888 (anonymous) says…

surely one of you anti wind energy people are going to chime in here and blame the wind on all of those turbines out west of Salina.
November 24, 2009 at 7:11 p.m.
mwmiller (Matt Miller) says…

Multidisciplinary..."only horizontal" is in reference to our surface winds in the east-west or north-south direction. We have the PGF(vertical) balancing the force of gravity keeping the atmosphere in "hydrostatic balance". When the vertical PGF no longer is in perfect "balance" then we get either rising or sinking air. That wasn't the topic of this blog, so it was just a reference to what the surface (horizontal) wind equations are.
November 24, 2009 at 9:31 p.m.
KUweatherman (Curtis Lange) says…

C'mon guys...everyone knows K-State blows and Mizzou sucks. ;)
November 24, 2009 at 11:49 p.m.
Starlight (anonymous) says…

I didn't think I could say that Curtis without being Kealinged.
November 25, 2009 at 5:39 p.m.
grammaddy (anonymous) says…

KUWeatherman, you beat me to it!!
November 25, 2009 at 5:46 p.m.