Gust Meter

(or gust recorder), a device for measuring high-velocity winds during a storm or hurricane. Gust meters of the type designed by the Soviet scientist M. I. Gol’tsman consist of two Pitot tubes—a flexible one, whose opening is directed toward the air stream by a wind vane, and a fixed one, which is attached to the first tube but facing in the opposite direction. Both tubes are attached to a U-shaped fluid pressure gauge, which is equipped with a special device that makes possible the determination of the magnitude of the wind’s maximum velocity from the quantity of liquid overflowing into a measuring vessel with each gust.

Also used as a gust meter is a cup anemograph, whose sensing element is a system of 10 to 21 cups attached to a metal tube. The air flow causes a difference in the aerodynamic resistance of the convex and concave sides of the cups, thus producing a torque that bends the tube, to which are attached strain gauges connected to a measuring bridge. Such an anemograph measures winds of up to 90 m per sec. It has the advantage of having no moving parts, little inertia, and a large measurement range.