Wind trivia

  • Wind in Earth is caused by differences in pressure.
  • Wind direction is reported by the direction from which it originates.
  • Aeolus or Eolus was the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology.
  • In the tropics the prevailing winds are warm, dry winds.
  • The world’s windiest place is George V in Antarctica, where 200 mph (320 km/h) winds are usual.
  • The strongest observed winds on a planet in our solar system occur on Neptune and Saturn.
  • The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun.
  • The highest wind speed ever measured in a tornado, which is also the highest wind speed ever recorded on Earth, is 301 ± 20 mph (484 ± 32 km/h) in the F5 Bridge Creek-Moore, Oklahoma tornado which killed 36 people.
  • Maximum sustained winds in the strongest tropical cyclones (hurricanes) have been estimated at about 195 miles per hour (314 km/h).
  • Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, wind mills for mechanical power, wind pumps for pumping water or drainage, or sails to propel ships.
  • Wind is a form of solar energy, created by the irregular heating of the Earth's surface.