Guide

How to find the wind speed at an address on a specific date

Updated October 15, 2026

No one measures the wind at every house. The closest you can get is the nearest weather station that recorded that day, plus any measured gusts reported nearby.

1. Find the nearest stations

Airport stations (ASOS and AWOS) measure wind to a common standard and report at least every hour, and more often during storms. NOAA keeps their history in Global Historical Climatology Network – hourly (GHCNh), which you can browse through Climate Data Online. Note each station's distance from the property.

2. Read gusts, not just wind speed

Sustained wind is the average over about two minutes. Gusts are the short peaks, and they are what damages roofs and trees. Look for the highest gust in the hours of the storm, and the time it was recorded.

3. Mind the units and the time

Station files often use knots or meters per second, and UTC time. 1 knot is 1.15 mph; 1 m/s is 2.24 mph. Convert times to the property's local time.

4. Add measured gusts from storm reports

Storm reports sometimes include gusts measured by other stations or trained spotters, closer to the property. The Storm Prediction Center storm reports and the NCEI Storm Events Database mark whether a gust was measured or estimated.

5. Judge how close is close enough

Thunderstorm gusts can vary a lot over a few miles. A station 3 miles away says more than one 20 miles away, and a property inside a severe thunderstorm warning area supports a strong gust even where no station measured it.

Our report does this for you: it lists the nearest stations with distance and direction, charts the wind through the day, marks the peak gust, and adds warnings and storm reports nearby.