March Is A Windy Month—But Why?
The spring months are often the windiest time for the Borderland. The reason is simple, the change of seasons and the warming of the earth’s surface.
Meteorologist Jason Laney with the National Weather Service El Paso explained; as the surface heats up, the air rises and the pressure lowers creating areas of low pressure. Meanwhile, cooler surfaces result in higher pressure as cooler air sinks. And because air always moves from high to low pressure, these pressure gradients result in the wind. When the gradient is stronger, so is the wind.
Laney says there is also a difference in spring winds and dust caused by pressure gradients; as opposed to the wind and dust generated from thunderstorm outflow (convective dust storms) that usually take place during Monsoon Season.
During the windy season, you’ll often hear the ABC-7 StormTRACK Weather team use phrases like wind advisory, high wind watches, and high wind warnings. What do these terms mean? These weather alerts mean that winds this strong can bring down tree branches and make driving difficult especially for high profile vehicles. Trees could be uprooted; shingles blown off area roofs and reduced visibility while driving.
