As part of KJZZ's Q&AZ project, one listener asked why the number of windy days in metro Phoenix seems to have increased in recent years.
April is most likely the windiest month in Arizona, although it may depend on where in Arizona you are, according to Tom Acker, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Solutions and a professor at at Northern Arizona University,
And April tends to be the windiest month because of a transition to summer weather patterns, says state climatologist Nancy Selover.
But Selover says this hasn't been the case in recent years.
“This year, last year and the previous year it’s happened a little earlier; this shift from winter to summer has been happening a little bit sooner. And so it’s been happening more maybe in March," Selover said.
Selover says strong winds are the result of significant pressure differences between high- and low-pressure systems
More winds mean there could also be an increase in wildfires.
