Mountain-gap wind
Encyclopedia
A mountain-gap wind, gap wind or gap flow is a local wind
blowing through a gap between mountains.
Gap winds are low-level winds and can be associated with strong winds of 20-40 knots and on occasion exceeding 50 knots. Gap winds are generally strongest close to gap exit.
Example flows include the surface winds blowing through the Strait of Gibraltar
– one of the strongest winds in this region is called Levanter. Similar winds occur at other gaps in mountain ranges, such as the tehuantepecer
and the jochwinde, and in long channels, such as the Strait of Juan de Fuca
between the Olympic Mountains
of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the Hinlopenstretet near Spitsbergen
. In the Columbia River Gorge
on the border of Washington and Oregon, the high frequency of gap winds has led to the installation of wind farms, and the large amount of wind surfing that takes place on the Columbia River.
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
blowing through a gap between mountains.
Gap winds are low-level winds and can be associated with strong winds of 20-40 knots and on occasion exceeding 50 knots. Gap winds are generally strongest close to gap exit.
Example flows include the surface winds blowing through the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
– one of the strongest winds in this region is called Levanter. Similar winds occur at other gaps in mountain ranges, such as the tehuantepecer
Tehuantepecer
Tehuantepecer is a violent mountain-gap wind traveling along Chivela Pass. It originates in the Bay of Campeche as a northerly wind which crosses the isthmus and blows through the gap between the Mexican and Guatemalan mountains. The synoptic condition is associated with high forming in Sierra...
and the jochwinde, and in long channels, such as the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
between the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the Hinlopenstretet near Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
. In the Columbia River Gorge
Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...
on the border of Washington and Oregon, the high frequency of gap winds has led to the installation of wind farms, and the large amount of wind surfing that takes place on the Columbia River.