ckoplien@todaystmj4.com

twitter.com/craigkoplien

If it seems to you that windy weather is more common in the spring and fall than in the summer and winter, you’re right. Of course, we sometimes have windy weather deep in the heart of summer and winter. But because of the state of the atmosphere during spring and fall, stronger weather systems are more common. And the stronger the weather system, the stronger the wind.

The state of the atmosphere I am referring to is the state of change. That is, when we are changing from the warm season to the cold in fall, or from the cold season to the warm in spring, quite a battle rages in the air around us. It’s a battle between warm and cold air for position over the United States. This is a primary factor in the development of weather systems. The more intense the battle, the stronger the weather system, and therefore the stronger the wind.

Because air rotates counter-clockwise around low pressure systems, we get warm southerly winds when weather systems approach us from the west. After they move east of Wisconsin, winds comes from the north, causing cold air to pour across the state.