Work

Climatology and Environmental Controls of Intense Wind Gusts in the Brazilian Amazon

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Investigating Amazonian intense wind gusts and their environments is essential to better understand the drivers and impacts of severe convection that can reshape forest structure, increase tree mortality, and threaten ecosystems and communities. This study presents the first multi‐decadal (2000–2024) assessment of intense convective wind gusts across the entire Brazilian Amazon, using hourly observations from surface weather stations. Intense gusts occur frequently across the Amazon, particularly during the dry‐to‐wet transition months of September and October, peaking in the mid‐ to late afternoon. Thermodynamic factors favor intense gust generation during the dry and transition seasons, with environments characterized by higher downdraft convective available potential energy, steeper low‐level lapse rates, and higher lifting condensation levels, particularly in southern Amazon.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2025gl120537

Authors: Vanessa Ferreira, Letícia Oliveira dos Santos, Mauricio Ilha de Oliveira, Ernani de Lima Nascimento, Anja Rammig

Institutions: Technical University of Munich, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Language: English

Topic: Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190