Why Was It Windy Today?

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the winds at 3PM (left) and the winds at 9PM (right). The blue contours indicate the spots that had winds 20-30 mph and that included us at 3PM! The frame on the right is the 9PM winds and notice the lack of blue gradients. SO, why was it windy this morning and why have the winds eased back this evening? Take a look at the side-by-side comparison of the surface pressure (click either image to enlarge):

The reason it was windy today was due to the pressure gradient OR the difference of pressure over a given distance.The lines above are lines of equal pressure or isobars. The closer they are together, the greater the change in pressure is over that area. So, look at Region 8. At 3PM, we had almost 4 isobars over our area. Now look at 9PM. We only have 2 isobars over the Midsouth, indicating that the pressure gradient is not as high. When the isobars are tightly compacted, it is windy. I call it the Shar Pei effect because it looks like wrinkles over us when it is windy. Get it?

Anywho... Enjoy the break from the wind right now. Have a great night.
Ryan