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What Is An Anemometer?

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Winds are measured by Anemometers

An anemometer is a weather instrument that measures wind speed. The most common type of anemometer consists of three or four cups that spin according to the speed of the wind. you can see an example of an old fashioned anemometer to the right of this article. The spinning cups are attached to sensors which determine the wind speed in knots per hour.

Winds are produced by a variety of events that cause differences of air temperature, and hence density, between two areas on the of the earth.

Due to the Coriolis effect, winds in a high pressure zone blow clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. In the United States, the prevailing winds normally move from West to East. Looking on a weather map, you can generally predict the type of weather heading your way by looking towards the west.

Winds will blow away from a high pressure zone. In fact, wind speeds are calculated based on the pressure gradient produced when air pressure lines called isobars are drawn on a weather map. The closer the isobar lines, the higher the wind speed.

Our website is dedicated to promoting interest in and better understanding of weather. WeatherWing has been the #1 Weather Observer Certification Training source for Oil and Aviation Interests in the Gulf of Mexico since 1998.

Source: http://WeatherWing.com

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