Winds
The high latitude and proximity to a large ocean to the west means that the United Kingdom experiences strong winds. The prevailing wind is from the south-west, but it may blow from any direction for sustained periods of time. Winds are strongest near westerly facing coasts and exposed headlands.
Gales — which are defined as winds with speeds of 51 to 101 km/h (32 to 63 mph)— are strongly associated with the passage of deep depressions across the country. The Hebrides experience on average 35 days of gale a year (a day where there are gale force winds) while inland areas in England and Wales receive fewer than 5 days of gale a year. Areas of high elevation tend to have higher wind speeds than low elevations, and Great Dun Fell in Cumbria (at 857 m/2,812 ft) averaged 114 days of gale a year during the period 1963 to 1976. The highest gust recorded at a low level was 191 km/h (119 mph) at Gwennap Head in Cornwall on 15 December 1979.
Read more about this topic: Climate Of The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the word winds:
“Death is another milestone on their way.
With laughter on their lips and with winds blowing round them
They record simply
How this one excelled all others in making driving belts.”
—Stephen Spender (1909–1995)
“All deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“O to dream, O to awake and wander
There, and with delight to take and render,
Through the trance of silence,
Quiet breath;
Lo! for there, among the flowers and grasses,
Only the mightier movement sounds and passes;
Only winds and rivers,
Life and death.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)