# How to find wind speed and maximum gust **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818 "2015-09-03T15:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/1 "2015-09-03T15:29:34Z")
The Wife asked if I ever heard how high the winds were on Saturday. I hadn’t. How can I find that information for my location? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/2 "2015-09-03T15:43:10Z")
Go to [weather.gov](http://weather.gov), click on your area on the map or search for it so the page is for your local weather office. Then on the left under Climate click Local. Select 1 Daily climate report, 2 fine tune the location, 3 select archived data and pick the day, 4 Go. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/3 "2015-09-03T16:04:33Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > 3 select archived data There is no ‘archive’ link. EDIT: No ‘Archive’, but I saw 3-Day History on the middle-right. Going there, I could select Show 7 Days. Winds during the storm were 29 mph, with a peak gust of 53 mph and other gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range. . ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/4 "2015-09-03T16:38:11Z")
My “posting from phone while also texting” instructions were probably bad, this is what I meant after you click “local” under climate. [http://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=lox](http://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=lox) Sounds like you got it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/5 "2015-09-03T17:05:03Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > My “posting from phone while also texting” instructions were probably bad, this is what I meant after you click “local” under climate. > > [http://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=lox](http://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=lox) > > Sounds like you got it anyway. Sites like that are often hard to explain how to navigate. Thanks for the link. I was not at home when the power went out, but the time of the peak gust is right around (or at) the time I remember seeing on PSE’s website where they state the time of the outage. The reporting station is Bellingham International Airport, which is about 20 miles from here. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/6 "2015-09-03T17:29:26Z")
Maybe you could invest in your own weather station. [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr\_nr\_n\_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A397435011%2Ck%3Awireless+weather+station&keywords=wireless+weather+station&ie=UTF8&qid=1441301288&rnid=2941120011](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A397435011%2Ck%3Awireless+weather+station&keywords=wireless+weather+station&ie=UTF8&qid=1441301288&rnid=2941120011) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/7 "2015-09-03T17:33:20Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Maybe you could invest in your own weather station. > > [Amazon.com : wireless weather station](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A397435011%2Ck%3Awireless+weather+station&keywords=wireless+weather+station&ie=UTF8&qid=1441301288&rnid=2941120011) I’d _love_ to have my own weather station, complete with a [Stevenson screen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevenson_screen). Dad was a Flight Service Specialist in the FAA, and I used to walk out with him to watch him take the readings. I’m not sure my property is suited to one though, and Wifey would Not Be Amused. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/8 "2015-09-03T18:40:35Z")
I would look around for a nearby weather enthusiast like this guy in my neighborhood. [http://www.shorelineweather.com](http://www.shorelineweather.com) He has a links page that might help. Perhaps a search at WeatherUnderground - [http://www.wunderground.com](http://www.wunderground.com) . Also, local schools often have weather sites. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/9 "2015-09-03T20:24:19Z")
Unfortunately, a lot of weather stations aren’t very accurate and the good ones are expensive. Davis and Rainwise are two popular “professional” stations and they’re over $500 minimum. I had a $150 Ambient Weather station and it’s readings were pretty off, but I just got it to play with. I wanted a Davis but I don’t have an ideal place to put one so it would have been a waste of money. Cheaper ones are still fun to have and you can put it on wunderground but the NWS won’t be begging you for weather data from a $79.99 station. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-find-wind-speed-and-maximum-gust/729818/10 "2015-09-03T22:58:08Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Unfortunately, a lot of weather stations aren’t very accurate and the good ones are expensive. Davis and Rainwise are two popular “professional” stations and they’re over $500 minimum. I had a $150 Ambient Weather station and it’s readings were pretty off, but I just got it to play with. I wanted a Davis but I don’t have an ideal place to put one so it would have been a waste of money. Cheaper ones are still fun to have and you can put it on wunderground but the NWS won’t be begging you for weather data from a $79.99 station. That’s why I’d want to do it old-school. Anyway, the Stevenson shields look cool. But it would be nice to have something automated. Not that it’s going to happen either way.