Windy Wednesday

A powerful cold front swept across the area late day yesterday. You could feel the passage as winds became abruptly stronger, just after commute time. And the wind it still an issue today!

 In addition to that cold front passing, the jet stream sits right over the area. That fast and narrow channel of wind aloft is also helping to fuel the stronger winds here at the surface. So far winds have gusted to around 40mph, especially right here in Milwaukee: The wind is definitely taking down a lot of leaves across the area, as we head to about 50% color changeover. Even though the wind is unpleasant today, it's not advisory criteria. For the National Weather Service to issue an Advisory, winds would have to be sustained at 30mph or higher for a one hour period, or have gusts at 45 to 57mph for a period of three hours. Anything stronger than that would warrant a wind warning. That's a warning that's only issued a couple times a year. We average about five Wind Advisories per year, since 2005.

The good news is that the wind will ease around sunset tonight.

I'm meteorologist Rebecca Schuld