- Author
- Simiu, E. | Filliben, J. J.
- Title
- Statistical Analysis of Extreme Winds. Final Technical Note.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS TN 868, June 1975,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- wind pressure; hurricanes; building codes; probability distribution functions; wind velocity; structural engineering; risk; statistical analysis; weather stations; meteorological data; storms; predictions; computer programs; errors
- Abstract
- With a view to assessing the validity of current probabilistic approaches to the definition of design wind speeds, a study was undertaken of extreme wind speeds based on records taken at 21 U.S. weather stations. For the purpose of analyzing extreme value data, a computer program was developed, which is described herein. The following results were obtained: (1) The assumption that a single probability distribution is universally applicable to all extreme wind data sets in a given type of climate was not confirmed, and (2) predictions of 100-year wind speeds based on overlapping 20-year sets of data taken at the same station differed between themselves by as much as 100%. Similar predictions for 1000-year winds differed by as much as a few hundred %. Since wind pressures are proportional to the square of the wind speeds, errors of such magnitude are unacceptably high for structural design purposes.