A Statistical Representation of Wind Events in the Great Lakes

We have analyzed hourly observations of overtake wind speed obtained from the eight National Data Buoy Center buoys deployed in the Great Lakes to determine the long-term (10 to 12 year) statistical characteristics of wind events over the lakes. We find that a generalized double-exponential model accurately describes both the return period and the duration of the wind events observed at each buoy, with only slight spatial variations in the model parameters. Wind observations made at several shore stations on Lake Michigan and filtered through a simple overland-overlake wind model confirm the model parameter values determined from the buoy measurements. The generalized function will be useful for engineering and climatological studies of the effects of winds on the Great Lakes.