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## NPWRC :: Climate ofNorth Dakota Page 1of2

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 

# Climate of North Dakota Wind
Wind is air in motion relative to the earth's surface. Air in motion does not move in a horizontal straight line, but moves upward, downward and sideways. Usually, however, the component of wind horizontal to the earth's surface is much larger than any other component. This is why wind is usually thought of as moving horizontally and why only the horizontal component of wind is normally measured and reported
. The average wind speed in North Dakota is greatest in late winter and early spring and least in summer (Table 

### 12). Average wind speeds in the Red River Valley are 

### 10 to 

### 20 percent higher than in the rest of the state. 

### Table 

### 12. Average wind speed and prevailing directions and the extreme mile ofwind for Bismarck, Devils Lake, Fargo, and Williston. 

# II Lake 

# II Fa'90 

# II I Month Speed direction Mile Speed direction Mile Speed direction Mile Speed direction Mile January WNW 

### 54 NW 

### 41 SSE 

### 62 W 

### 70 February WNW 

### 54 NW 

### 54 N 

### 56 NE 

### 66

March WNW 

### 65 NW 

### 54 N 

### 56 NW 

### 52 April I I WNW 

### 63 NW 

### 47 N 

### 68 SE 

### 56 May SSE 

### 66 NE 

### 52 N 

### 72 SE 

### 56 June WNW 

### 66 SE 

### 50 SSE 

### 115 I I SE 

### 61 July SSE 

### 72 NW 

### 56 S 

### 60 SE 

### 64 August E 

### 72 SE 

### 47 SSE 

### 71 SW 

### 47 WNW 

### 66 NW 

### 46 SSE 

### 88 SW 

### 50 I October WNW 

### 61 NW 

### 47 

# I I SSE 

### 57 SW 

### 57 1November WNW 

### 67 NW II 

### 57 I 

# I S 

# I 66 SW 

### 47 I December WNW 

### 61 NW II 

### 42 

# I I S II 

### 58 I I SW 

### 56 I Year WNW 

### 72 NW II 

### 57 N II 

### 115 SW 

### 70

Yrs
. of 

### 14 57 14 3 record The fastest wind speed clocked over 

### a one-minute period at the four National Weather Service Stations in the state was 

### 115 miles per hour. This wind speed, which greatly exceeds the threshold value of

### 75 miles per hour for hurricanes, was recorded when a powerful thunderstorm struck Fargo during midafternoon on June 

### 9, 1959. The next strongest wind speed of

### 88 mph was also recorded at Fargo on September 

### 1, 1960, when a line ofthunderstorms moved through the city. With the exception of these two instances at Fargo, the fastest wind speeds registered over a one-minute period were about the same in winter as in summer. This indicates that winter cold fronts and low pressure systems can produce winds of about the same speed as those associated with summer thunderstorms
. In addition, high winds in winter can be sustained over a period of several hours, and in rare cases two to three days, while in summer the duration of the strong winds is usually on the order of a few minutes. In Figure 

### 52, wind roses show the percentage oftime that the winds blow from 

### 16 compass points at Fargo, Bismarck and Minot. The five wind roses for each station cover the four seasons and an annual composite
. On an annual basis, the prevailing wind flow at Fargo shows strong incoming north north-northwest flow and a strong south and south-southeast return flow. Wind from an easterly or southwesterly direction occurs much less frequently than from other directions
. Winds at Bismarck prevail most often from a west-northwest direction, and contrary to Fargo and Minot a sizable east wind component occurs. Minot winds are more evenly balanced around the compass than Fargo or Bismarck, although northwest winds definitely prevail. The seasonal wind roses for January, April, July and October are similar to the annual wind roses (Figure 

### 52). Seasonal wind roses differfrom the annual wind rose nearly always because the wind so often changes direction, rather than a change in the 

## 2110/2010 http://www.npwrc.llsgs.gov/resource/habitat/climate/wind.htm

# --------------------------- NPWRC :: ClimateofNorth Dakota Page 2 of2 prevailing wind pattern. Previous Section -- Obstructions to Visibility Return to Contents Next Section -- Severe Storms



## -­ U.S. Department of the Interior 

### I U.S. Geological Survey URL: http://www
.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/climate/wind
.htm Page Contact Information: npwrc@usgs
.gov Page Last Modified: August 3, 2006



# •

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resourcelhabitatlc1imate/wind.htm 2/10/2010