Effect of Elevation and Aspect on Wind, Temperature and Humidity

Abstract

Meteorological patterns around an isolated, conical mountain were analyzed for 2 consecutive years July through October. Nine remote automatic weather stations were deployed on nearly uniform slopes, all four aspects, and over an elevational range of from 2700 to 3300 m. The data were sorted according to light and strong winds, both night and day, in order to highlight influences due to airflow, surface heating and topography. Wind speeds grater than 5 m s?1 negate any slope, elevation or aspect differences present at low wind speeds. Detailed statistical analysis illustrated that the effects of aspect were much more pronounced than the effects of elevation on the wind components and, to a lesser degree on temperature.