Wind Won't Quit

Yesterday we had wind gusts up to 40 mph across the region. The blustery conditions are continuing today, and likely won't quit completely until Monday rolls around. Wind gusts this morning are as high as 35 mph. Today's direction is more of a southwesterly component with sustained speeds at 15-25 mph. The direction shifts slightly tomorrow, but the intensity remains the same. Sunday's speeds still appear breezy at 10-20 mph out of the north.

The main reason for the howling winds is this extremely deep area of low pressure centered over Iowa. This low is so tightly wound that the circulation around it is quite rapid. The pressure at the Rockford Airport dropped as low as 29.37" this morning. Anytime our pressure drops below 30" I would consider it low. This is about as low as the pressure across the midsection of the country ever gets (the core of this spin is at 29.25" in Fort Dodge, IA at 11am). The reason for the prolonged time period of blustery conditions is the fact that this storm system is moving at a snail's pace, and it won't reach the eastern seaboard until Sunday night. -ADAM