The Wild Wind My report will blow you away! By: Sarah Culp

What is Wind? It’s when air moves! It’s produced by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun. 2 factors are necessary for wind to occur: – Speed – Direction

What Causes the Wind to Blow? The sun warms the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere gets warmer too. Warm air, weighting less than cold air, rises. The cold air moves in to take the place of the warmer air. This movement of air, causes wind! The sun warms the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere gets warmer too. Warm air, weighting less than cold air, rises. The cold air moves in to take the place of the warmer air. This movement of air, causes wind!

Wind Damage! 1.Wind can produce a significant amount of damage to property. 2.It can be dangerous to animals and people. 3.It can rip large trees out of the ground, cause power poles to fall. 4.Cars can be thrown, houses can be destroyed. 5.High winds can kill!

Safety Tips During a Wind Storm Reduce a Wind Storms Impact by: – Removing any dead trees on your property. – Remove loose roofing materials. – Any object that might break away and cause damage to a person or structure. What should you do if a wind storm is announced? – Take shelter and tune into a local weather station. – Shut windows securely and brace doors. – Bring unsecured objects inside (furniture, toys, pots, garbage cans).

Where do Wind Storms Occur? We have wind storms in Oregon, but they aren’t considered highly dangerous. At times, our coastal areas can experience high wind and a warning is issued. Damaging wind storms, called Nor’easters, frequently occur on the East Coast and into Canada. They occur from the months of November to March. Nor’easters develop due to the difference in the warm Gulf Stream ocean current coming up from the tropical Atlantic and the cold air masses coming down from NW Canada. Wind storms can last anywhere from 12 to 200 hours.

Beaufort Scale The Beaufort Scale is the way scientists measure the intensity of weather, based on wind power. It looks at: – Wind speed (miles per hour (MPH)) – Wind speed (knots) – Description of the wind (calm, light air, light breeze, gale, storm) – Sea conditions (flat, small wavelets, moderate longer waves) – Land conditions (small branches move, whole trees in motion)

Pinwheel Wind Collector Pinwheels collect the wind and show the effects of wind speed.