The wind really does come sweepin’ down the plain in Oklahoma – mostly because of our state’s placement in the U.S.
“Wind is air moving from higher pressure to lower pressure areas, like air rushing out of a punctured tire,” says Gary McManus, the state climatologist for the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. “Stronger pressure difference causes stronger wind.
“Oklahoma sits in the Southern Plains just east of the Rocky Mountains, and that geography plays a major role,” says McManus. “The prevailing westerly winds that flow across the Rockies help create a semi-permanent area of lower pressure on the eastern side of the mountains, known as a lee trough. This feature frequently sets up across High Plains, including the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. When the lee trough combines with high-pressure systems over the Rockies or northern Plains, it creates a persistent pressure gradient across Oklahoma. That pressure difference is what drives many of our windy days.”
Oklahoma’s relatively flat terrain allows stronger winds aloft to mix down to the surface, especially during the daytime when the atmosphere is well-mixed. So, winds can maintain higher speeds near the ground.
McManus says Oklahoma sits in a unique part of the country where large-scale atmospheric features intersect. These include jet streams, which he says are “narrow bands of strong winds several miles above the ground.” He mentions that these cause a number of conditions that increase wind speeds at the surface.
“Drylines are surface boundaries that separate warm, moist air from the Gulf and hot, dry air from the desert Southwest and Mexican Plateau, commonly setting up in western Oklahoma during spring,” McManus says.
Drylines can lead to gusty winds even outside of thunderstorms, and McManus warns that their presence can signal critical wildfire danger.
“Oklahoma’s geography amplifies these effects,” says McManus. “To the west, the Rockies help generate lee troughs and low-pressure systems as air flows eastward over the terrain. To the south, the Gulf provides a steady source of moisture transported northward by the low-level jet. To the north, colder continental air masses frequently move southward.”
So, Oklahoma sits at the crossroads of these contrasting air masses and dynamic atmospheric features. That collision of temperature, moisture and pressure differences is a primary reason Oklahoma experiences frequent wind, active storm systems and highly variable weather.
“These differences in Oklahoma’s wind speeds also drive the enhanced wildfire conditions across western Oklahoma, despite having less vegetation to burn than eastern Oklahoma, along with other factors such as higher aridity and lower humidity,” he says.
Which is Windier?
“On average, Oklahoma becomes windier as you move west,” says McManus. “Western Oklahoma sits at higher elevations on the High Plans, has fewer trees and less surface roughness, which means there is less friction to slow wind near the ground. Eastern Oklahoma’s greater tree cover and more varied terrain tend to reduce average wind speeds, although some ridge tops and elevated areas there can still be locally windy.”
Air mass characteristics are another factor, with drier air common in western Oklahoma allowing for deeper daytime atmospheric mixing. That transports higher-momentum air from aloft down to the surface, increasing wind speeds, especially during the afternoon.
“Data from the Oklahoma Mesonet shows that western Oklahoma experiences prevailing average annual wind speeds two-to-three times greater than eastern Oklahoma, averaging wind gusts over 10 mph greater in western Oklahoma,” says McManus.
