Wind Facts for Kids

18 Wind Facts For Kids

1. Wind is the air moving throughout our atmosphere, from the troposphere to the thermosphere.
2. Wind is created by temperature differences in our atmosphere, warmer temperatures create low-pressure areas and cooler temperatures created high-pressure areas.
3. The process that moves air from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas is called diffusion.
4. Wind speed is determined by the difference between high-pressure and low-pressure areas. The bigger the difference, the faster the wind speeds.
5. Wind plays a vital role on our planet, it helps move moisture and precipitation, along with pollen from plants.
6. Wind can also be quite destructive, heavy winds are produced by thunderstorms, tornadoes, or hurricanes.
7. Wind can also make a wildfire bigger and more destructive by providing fresh oxygen that fuels the fire.
8. Wind can help generate renewable energy using a wind turbine.
9. Wind speeds are measured using an anemometer.
10. An anemometer works by having a rod with four cup shaped objects attached that can spin freely. The rotations are counted to calculate the current wind speed.
11. Wind speeds can also be measured using the Beaufort scale, which empirically measures wind based on visual observations.
12. The Beaufort sale has 13 categories, from 0 to 12, with 0 being the weakest wind speeds (<1 mph) and 12 being the strongest wind speeds (>73 mph).
13. The strongest daily average wind speed ever recorded was 108 miles per hour at Port Martin, Antarctica between March 21st, and March 22nd in 1951.
14. The strongest wind speed ever recorded was 301 (+/- 20) miles per hour during the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado in Oklahoma, USA on May 3rd, 1999.
15. The strongest wind speed ever recorded and not created by a tornado was 254 miles per hour during Tropical Cyclone Olivia at the Barrow Island in Western Australia on April 10th, 1996.
16. The strongest wind speed ever recorded and not created by a tornado, or a tropical cyclone was 231 miles per hour at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA on April 12th, 1934.
17. In our Solar System, Saturn has the fastest winds of any of our eight planets. The Saturn orbiter Cassini detected wind speeds up to 890 miles per hour.
18. According to computer models, the exoplanet HD 80606 b has the fastest winds discovered to date. Located in the constellation of Ursa Major, which is about 190 light-years from our Sun, has winds that reach 10,800 miles per hour or 15 times faster than the speed of sound.

Wind Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on wind. Below are three pictures related to wind. These pictures should help you better understand how powerful wind can be and how it can cause a lot of damage.

A picture of strong winds blowing around a tree.

A picture of strong winds affecting a camp ground.

A picture of a tree knocked down by strong winds.