High-Wind Event Detection and Trends from the New York State Mesonet

Strong to severe winds can create widespread and significant property and crop damage, and in some cases injury and death. A wind event is classified by the National Weather Service as a “high wind event” if average speeds are 40 mph or more for at least an hour or if wind gusts reach up to 58 mph for a 3-second period or more. New York State experiences high wind events from synoptic-scale-systems, hurricanes, and lake-induced effects. New York State has a history of high wind events. We first analyzed the high wind events using National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) storm database. During the last 23 years (1996-2018), high wind events across New York have caused an estimated $193M in property damage and 39 reported fatalities. They occur frequently along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and Long Island (left figure below). This study also evaluates past trends in high wind events and investigates whether these events can be better monitored with use of the New York State Mesonet (NYSM). The NYSM has 126 sites that collect real-time weather information. NYSM sonic anemometers and propeller wind monitors collect 10-m wind speeds and wind direction every 5 minutes and maximum 3-sec wind gusts. An example high wind event observed on April 4-5, 2018 was examined in detail. On this day, the NYSM recorded its most widespread high wind gust day. In this case, the NYSM provided new information as some high wind gusts were recorded by NYSM sites that were not reported to NCEI (right figure below). Overall, the NYSM has the potential to significantly improve monitoring of high impact wind events.