Investigation of high wind events at the major airports in Turkey

Abstract

Gust, a sudden and brief increase in wind speed, becomes important for general aviation and soaring when it exceeds threshold values. Exceeding these thresholds may lead to delaying or cancelling flights and soaring activities. One of these thresholds is defined as a high-wind event when  gust speed reaches 50 knots or more. In this study, high-wind events were investigated at the major airports in Turkey for the period 2009-2013. These events were classified according to their wind direction and weather mechanism (convective and nonconvective). There were 105 high-wind-event days in this investigated period. About two-thirds of these events were found from southerly directions, and one-third were from northerly directions. The occurrence frequencies of convective and non-convective events were similar, but convective high-wind events were more common in late spring and summer months.