On the Variation of Maximum Wind Gusts with Height

Abstract

The effects of time-averaging and length of record on the variance of horizontal wind speed are considered through power spectral techniques. These effects are applied to a height profile of intensity of turbulence (ratio of the standard deviation of horizontal wind speed to mean wind speed) derived from data published by Deacon. For stationary strong-wind regimes dominated by “mechanical turbulence,” maximum gusts are determined as a function of height and averaging time.