WeatherwatchMeteorologyMarch winds are famous – and Storm Gareth hit Britain this March. But other months are as windy
“March brings breezes sharp and chill / Shakes the dancing daffodil,” according to a traditional rhyme. March is often taken to be the windy month, but this is not the full story.
March tends to be blustery because it is a period of transition. The sun is higher in the sky and the earth warms up in places, creating pockets of relatively hot air. But this temperature change is not widespread, causing pressure differences between warm areas and cold ones. These pressure differences give rise to winds as air moves from high pressure to low.
The increased amount of warm air has a further effect. It rises, causing atmospheric mixing and bringing winds from higher levels down to ground level. The wind is always stronger at altitude, so this type of mixing invariably means stronger winds below.
March is breezy and gusty rather than having strong, sustained winds. Wind statistics show that while March has the highest chance of wind blowing more than 4 on the Beaufort scale at any given time – “moderate breeze, small branches moved” – the average wind speed is no higher than in December, January or February.
The UK’s wind turbines produce slightly less energy in March than in the winter months. So March’s claim to be the windy month is perhaps overblown.
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