Wind events

‘Wind event’ is a term used by meteorologists, and refers to strong winds, or even storms or hurricanes. In urban planning, it can also refer to phenomena such as ground winds and wind tunnels.

Ground wind is the direction and the speed of wind on land, and is the wind that is predicted in weather forecasts. However, the perception of wind might be different from the actual ground winds. For instance, in the built environment wind tunnels can occur, if the street pattern is aligned with the prevailing winds. Also the ratio between building heights and street widths has an impact on wind effects.

Topography and building heights also have effects on how the winds behave. For instance hills, or high-rise buildings, create obstacles for the winds, which causes turbulence. This in turn causes wind effects on the ground, meaning that a place can be perceived as windy even if it is not a very windy day.