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Extreme Wind Speed Data Sets: Non-Directional Wind Speeds

Introduction: BSS 118 This section contains non-directional wind speeds at 10m above ground in open terrain, based on data reported in Simiu, Changery, and Filliben (1979), "Extreme Wind Speeds at 129 Stations in the Contiguous United States," NBS Building Science Series 118 (BSS 118) and on additional data provided by the National Weather Service after the publication of BSS 118.

The data consists of the maximum annual wind speed regardless of wind direction, i.e., only the annual maximum wind speed over all directions is included.

You can download these non-directional data sets as a single Excel spreadsheet that contains the data for all stations (each station as a separate worksheet).

Format of the ASCII Flat Files Alternatively, the data for each station can be downloaded as an ASCII flat file. The format of the ASCII flat files is as follows:
  • Line 1 identifies the station and specifies the period covered.
  • Lines 2 and 3 are blank.
  • Line 4 identifies the columns
  • The remaining lines contain the data. The columns are:

    • Column 1: A character code identifying the direction (N = North, S = South, W = West, E = East, these can also be combined into a 2-character code).
    • Column 2: Fastest mile wind speed at 10 meters in mph.
    • Column 3: 3-s gust speed (mph).
    • Column 4: 3-s peak gust speed (m/s).
Data Sets The following is the list of available ASCII flat file data sets. You can also download all of the files as a single zip file. Note that if you unzip this file on a Unix/Linux platform, you should use the "zip -a" option in order to obtain the correct "LF/CR" convention.
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Date created: 05/11/2005
Last updated: 04/26/2023
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