Ever hear about wind gusts and wonder what makes them different from regular winds? The most important difference between these two types of winds is “duration.”

Sustained winds:

A sustained wind is the average wind speed recorded over two minutes. For example: If the wind speed is 10 mph at the start of the first minute, 15 mph after one minute, and then 10 mph after two minutes, the sustained wind speed is about 12 mph.

Wind gusts:

A wind gust is a sudden burst of wind that typically lasts under 20 seconds. They are larger in magnitude compared to sustained winds and they typically occur in severe weather.