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High Wind Climatology and Vulnerability
The Southeastern United States has a dynamic and diverse wind climate. From tornadoes to hurricanes to thunderstorms to non-convective events the Southeast experiences them all throughout the year. This High Wind Climatology created by the Southeast Regional Climate Center utilizes the Unrestricted Mesoscale Analysis Data (URMA) to better understand the spatial thumbprint of high winds. In this climatology the frequency of days with specific mean and maximum wind gust speeds during each of the four seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer, are visualized. This was done to provide a comprehensive and detailed picture of the ever-shifting nature of high winds across the Southeast. It is critical that we study the distribution of high wind events across the Southeastern United States. This is because in the Southeastern United States there is prolific coverage of early succession, species, such as the loblolly pines, that have a low resiliency to withstanding high wind gust speeds. Additionally, in the Southeast, there is a high percentage of manufactured and mobile home residence. The High Wind Vulnerability overlays the 40 mph or greater mean/maximum wind speeds with various socioeconomic indicators from the United States Census to identify where exposure and susceptibility to high winds are greatest and where they are located across the region.
For more information or questions about this high wind climatology or vulnerability please contact Dr. Chip Konrad (cek@unc.edu) or Liv Davis (livdavis@unc.edu).
