Forecast wind gusts map

What the gusts map shows

The strongest gusts ahead, in miles an hour: the brief bursts above the steady wind that bring down limbs and power lines. Gusts over 58 mph are what a severe thunderstorm or high wind warning names.

How to read it

Under 20 mph

Little gusting.

20 to 40 mph

Gusty; loose things blow about.

40 to 58 mph

Limbs down, power cuts possible.

Over 58 mph

Severe; what a severe thunderstorm or high wind warning names.

Over 74 mph

Hurricane force.

What it is for

• Know when to tie down, take in or stay off the road.
• See where power lines and trees are most at risk.
• Read with the wind map: steady wind and gusts together.

How it is made

The forecast maps are drawn from the national blend of the forecast models: the models joined into one forecast and corrected against what each place has measured, on a grid 1.6 miles across, the forecast the country’s forecasters start from. Each of its main runs, four a day, is read whole, laid onto the same grid of latitude and longitude as the radar at 2.8 miles a cell, and played forward from now.

A frame every 3 hours to 3 days, then every 6 hours to 7 days, played from now as a loop of 1 to 7 days. As data: /radar/now.json?show=fgust, the times of its frames.