Sunday, July 11, 2010

There is wind, too

(Continuing the Iceland travelogue.)

Lots of wind, in fact. You can look up real time weather conditions throughout the country. Click on this map to get the local wind velocity and pattern. An example of my locale on one of the northern peninsulas, here.

This is an important service because sometimes the wind is too strong to drive on the roads. Before you head out, it is good to know if you can get there.

A short video below of what it feels like at ground level when the speed is between 20 and 30 meters/second, or over 50 miles per hour. It took my full strength to walk against the wind. If you walk with the wind, it makes you run. If you park your car wrong, the wind will whip the door out of your hands and almost off the hinges.

Recently, a man was blown off a cliff to his death when he approached it standing up on a gusty day, rather than lying down.

If you can't see the video, click here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, if that went on constantly it would make me psychotic. No wonder they have an erosion problem.

nonlocal

olaoluwatomi said...

Getting a wind report before heading out is interesting! Sad about the guy blown to his death wonder if he was a local or tourist? Do they harness the wind energy?

Anonymous said...

Tourist, I believe.

Regarding wind energy, not that I know of. They use the geothermal energy that is plentiful, though.