It has been particularly windy across the NorthJersey-New York metro area, and the howling gusts will stick around at least for the next several days.
But what is causing the damaging winds? Here are the main factors that are generating these gusts.
Why is it so windy today?
The departing winter storm is chiefly responsible for driving the cold air and damaging gusts across North Jersey.
The departing winter storm is chiefly responsible for causing damaging winds across North Jersey and New York.
“The winds are due to the storm, which went offshore south of us and is moving away,” said North Jersey Observers spokesperson Bob Ziff. “It’s a phenomenon known as a pressure gradient, where high pressure is moving in from the north as a storm pulls away.
”The difference in pressure between the two systems causes the high winds.”
Wind speeds are steady around 20 mph with gusts nearing 35 mph across the region. But, the urban terrain in New York City and heavily populated cities in North Jersey can enhance the impact, with wind tunnels created by tall buildings and narrow streets.
How long will the winds last?
AccuWeather relayed a wind advisory from the National Weather Service, which will last at least through Thursday evening. Gusts are expected to reach 50 mph.
”Strong winds will result in some downed tree limbs and a few power outages may result. Unsecured objects will be blown around and/or damaged,” read the wind advisory. “Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.”
Beyond that, winds should trend back to normal over the weekend, before again picking up next week.
You can track realtime wind flow using AccuWeather’s interactive wind flow map.
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Why is it so windy in New York today, and how long will it last?