Duration of extreme synoptic wind speeds for North America in a changing climate and its engineering implementation

•Synoptic wind durations can range from one-hour to about 10 h.•Time durations for synoptic wind speed about the ultimate return period are close to but slightly longer than one hour in most regions across North America.•Time durations for synoptic wind speed at lower return periods can be much longer than one hour in most regions across North America.•The effect of synoptic wind duration has limited impact on elastic strength design but a non-negligible impact on serviceability and the Cladding and Component (C&C) design.•The engineering implication of climate change impact on synoptic wind durations across North America is limited.