Mean Horizontal Wind Research Articles

Investigation of Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere Dynamics over Central and Northern Peru Using SIMONe Systems

Abstract One year of Spread spectrum Interferometric Multistatic meteor radar Observing Network (SIMONe) measurements are analyzed and compared for the first time between two low-latitude locations in Peru: Jicamarca (12°S, 77°W) and Piura (5°S, 80°W). Investigation of the mean horizontal winds and tides reveals that mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) planetary-scale dynamics are similar between these two locations, although differences can be seen in some tidal components, e.g., the diurnal tide. On the other hand, 28-day median values of the momentum fluxes obtained with 4-h, 4-km time–altitude bins indicate that the mesoscale dynamics differ significantly between Jicamarca and Piura, places separated by approximately 850 km. From the middle of July until October 2021, a strong acceleration of the background zonal wind by westward-propagating gravity waves (GWs) is observed above ∼90 km at both locations, although with larger amplitudes over Jicamarca. From the middle of January until April 2022, a second strong acceleration of the background zonal wind, again by westward-propagating GWs, is observed, but this time with larger amplitudes over Piura. The latter is further supported by the dominance of negative vertical gradients of the zonal momentum flux above 89 km of altitude. Thus, these results observationally confirm the previous studies based on general circulation model simulations indicating that the directions of the zonal GW drag and the zonal background wind coincide in the low-latitude MLT. The weak correlations between the horizontal wind gradients over Jicamarca and Piura reinforce the fact that the mesoscale dynamics are different at these two locations.

Revealing inflow and wake conditions of a 6 MW floating turbine

Abstract. We investigate the characteristics of the inflow and the wake of a 6 MW floating wind turbine from the Hywind Scotland offshore wind farm, the world's first floating wind farm. We use two commercial nacelle-mounted lidars to measure the up- and downwind conditions with a fixed and a scanning measuring geometry, respectively. In the analysis, the effect of the pitch and roll angles of the nacelle on the lidar measuring location is taken into account. The upwind conditions are parameterized in terms of the mean horizontal wind vector at hub height, the shear and veer of the wind profile along the upper part of the rotor, and the induction of the wind turbine rotor. The wake characteristics are studied in two narrow wind speed intervals between 8.5–9.5 and 12.5–13.5 m s−1, corresponding to below and above rotor rated speeds, respectively, and for turbulence intensity values between 3.3 %–6.4 %. The wake flow is measured along a horizontal plane by a wind lidar scanning in a plan position indicator mode, which reaches 10 D downwind. This study focuses on the downstream area between 3 and 8 D. In this region, our observations show that the transverse profile of the wake can be adequately described by a self-similar wind speed deficit that follows a Gaussian distribution. We find that even small variations (∼1 %–2 %) in the ambient turbulence intensity can result in an up to 10 % faster wake recovery. Furthermore, we do not observe any additional spread of the wake due to the motion of the floating wind turbine examined in this study.

A Unified Formulation for the Computation of the Six-Degrees-of-Freedom-Motion-Induced Errors in Floating Doppler Wind LiDARs

This work presents an analytical formulation to assess the six-degrees-of-freedom-motion-induced error in floating Doppler wind LiDARs (FDWLs). The error products derive from the horizontal wind speed bias and apparent turbulence intensity. Departing from a geometrical formulation of the FDWL attitude and of the LiDAR retrieval algorithm, the contributions of the rotational and translational motion to the FDWL-measured total error are computed. Central to this process is the interpretation of the velocity–azimuth display retrieval algorithm in terms of a first-order Fourier series. The obtained 6 DoF formulation is validated numerically by means of a floating LiDAR motion simulator and experimentally in nearshore and open-sea scenarios in the framework of the Pont del Petroli and IJmuiden campaigns, respectively. Both measurement campaigns involved a fixed and a floating ZephIRTM 300 LiDAR. The proposed formulation proved capable of estimating the motion-induced FDWL horizontal wind speed bias and returned similar percentiles when comparing the FDWL with the fixed LiDAR. The estimations of the turbulence intensity increment statistically matched the FDWL measurements under all motional and wind scenarios when clustering the data as a function of the buoy’s mean tilt amplitude, mean translational-velocity amplitude, and mean horizontal wind speed.

A Motion-Correction Method for Turbulence Estimates from Floating Lidars

Estimates of atmospheric turbulence performed by both fixed and floating vertically profiling, conically scanning wind lidars are affected by the measurement volume and turbulence structure, among others. We study this phenomenon by simulating the lidar measurements within synthetic fields of atmospheric turbulence. We use the simulations’ framework to assess the impact of buoy motions on turbulence estimation. Simulation results show that the buoy’s translational motions impact turbulence estimates the most. We also apply the simulation framework to analyze measurements from a floating lidar measuring nearby an offshore meteorological mast for a period of six months. The analysis of measurements is presented both without and with motion compensation. In general, we find from both simulations and measurements that the buoy motions do not impact the mean horizontal wind speed significantly, in agreement with previous studies. However, both simulations and measurements show that the standard deviation of the horizontal velocity is overestimated by the floating lidar. When we correct the measurements based on compensation factors derived from the simulations, the mean bias of the horizontal wind speed standard deviation changes from 18–19% to 5–21%, with large reductions at the first four heights closest to the surface and a slight increase at the highest vertical level.

Quantification of motion-induced measurement error on floating lidar systems

Abstract. Floating lidar systems (FLSs) are widely used for offshore wind site assessment, and their measurements show good agreement when compared to trusted reference sources. However, some influence of motion on mean wind speed data from FLS has to be assumed but could not have been quantified with experimental methods yet because the involved uncertainties are larger than the expected impact of motion. This study describes the motion-induced bias on horizontal mean wind speed estimates from FLS with the help of simulations of the lidar sampling pattern of a continuous-wave (CW) velocity–azimuth display (VAD) scanning wind lidar. Analytic modeling is used to validate the simulations. It is found that the mean bias depends on amplitude and frequency of motion, the angle between motion and wind direction, and wind speed and strength of wind shear. The simulations are used to quantify the measurement deviation that is caused by motion for the example of the Fugro SEAWATCH Wind LiDAR Buoy (SWLB) carrying a ZX 300M profiling wind lidar. The strongest bias of −0.67 % of the measurement values was estimated for a test case with “strong” waves aligned with the inflow wind direction. Under “normal” wave conditions the bias is smaller. The reason for these low errors lies in a fortunate combination of the frequencies of lidar prism rotation and tilt motion.

Dynamics of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over two middle-latitude rural sites with Doppler lidar

The Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) over two middle-latitude rural sites was characterized in terms of mean horizontal wind and turbulence sources using a standard classification methodology based on Doppler lidar. The first location was an irrigated olive orchard in Úbeda (Southern Spain), representing one of the most important crops in the Mediterranean basin and a typical site with Mediterranean climate. The second location was PolWET peatland site in Rzecin (Northwestern Poland), representing one of the largest natural terrestrial carbon storages that have a strong interaction with the climate system. The results showed typical situations for non cloud-topped ABL cases, where ABL is fully developed during daytime due to convection, with high turbulent activity and strong positive skewness indicating frequent and powerful updrafts. The cloud-topped cases showed the strong influence that clouds can have on ABL development, preventing it to reach the same maximum height and introducing top-down movements as an important contribution to mixing. The statistical analysis of turbulent sources allowed for finding a common diurnal cycle for convective mixing at both sites, but nocturnal wind shear driven turbulence with marked differences in its vertical distribution. This analysis demonstrates the Doppler lidar measurements and the classification algorithm strong potential to characterize the dynamics of ABL in its full extent and with high temporal resolution. Moreover, some recommendations for future improvement of the classification algorithm were provided on the basis of the experience gained.

Fractal dimension characteristics of wind speed time series under typhoon climate

On the basis of fractal theory, the fractal dimension is assumed to be a quantitative parameter to assess the complexity of fluctuations and persistence of wind speeds. This study examines characteristics of the fractal dimension of wind speeds during three typhoons based on field measurements. The time series of all wind speeds exhibited three prominent stages and excellent synchronization among four heights (35 m, 55 m, 75 m, and 95 m). The results show that peak regions of the fractal dimension occur at the times of arrival and departure of a typhoon, and the mean values of fractal dimension in the high wind speed stage reach the maximum. The wind speed time series are anti-persistent, with the fractal dimension varying from 1.55 to 1.75 throughout the typhoon. Moreover, the values of fractal dimension rely slightly on the length of wind speed data, and are positively correlated with the mean horizontal wind speed. This study aims to enhance the understanding of fractal features in wind speeds under typhoon climate and these findings on the characteristics of the fractal dimension can be incorporated into the simulation algorithms of typhoons.

Validation of Multistatic Meteor Radar Analysis Using Modeled Mesospheric Dynamics: An Assessment of the Reliability of Gradients and Vertical Velocities

AbstractA virtual meteor radar system based on the upper‐atmosphere extension of the high‐resolution ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic general circulation model is constructed to validate multistatic specular meteor radar (SMR) analyses. The virtual radar system examines the validity of mean winds and gradients estimation techniques used in multistatic SMRs. The study is motivated by unexpected mean values and tide‐like features recently observed in the vertical velocities estimated from multistatic SMRs at different latitudes in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The proposed analysis confirms multistatic SMR systems' excellent capability to measure the horizontal mean wind components and gradient terms. It is also found that multistatic SMRs can estimate mean vertical winds if they have an amplitude greater than ±2 m/s. Due to the smoothing inherent to the model results, these results should be treated as lower bounds to the error incurred using real data. Hourly variability in vertical velocity estimates up to ±1–2 m/s in the observed vertical winds are due to contamination by small‐scale horizontal structures in the horizontal winds.

A Comparison of MLT Wind between Meteor Radar Chain and SD-WACCM Results

A meteor radar chain located along the 120°E meridian in the Northern Hemisphere from low to middle latitudes provides long-term horizontal wind observations of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. In this study, we report a seasonal variation and its latitudinal feature in the horizontal mean wind in the MLT region observed by 6 meteor radars located at Mohe (53.5°N, 122.3°E), Beijing (40.3°N, 116.2°E), Mengcheng (33.4°N, 116.5°E), Wuhan (30.6°N, 114.4°E), Kunming (25.6°N, 108.3°E) and Fuke (19.5°N, 109.1°E) stations. In addition, we compare the MLT wind measured by the meteor radars and the simulated by Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). In general, the WACCM appears to well capture the seasonal and latitudinal variations in the zonal wind component. Especially, the temporal evolution of the eastward zonal wind maximum shifts from July to May as the latitude decreases. However, the WACCM meridional wind show differences with the meteor radar observations.

Comparative Study of the Near-Surface Typhoon Wind Profile Fitting between Offshore and Onshore Areas

The study of typhoon wind profiles, especially offshore typhoon wind profiles, has been constrained by the scarcity of observational data. In this study, the Doppler wind lidar was used to observe the offshore wind profiles during Super Typhoon Mangkhut and onshore wind profiles during Super Typhoon Lekima. Four wind profile models, including the power law, logarithmic law, Deaves–Harris (D-H), and Gryning, were selected in the height range of 0–300 m to fit the wind profile. The variations in the power exponent with the mean wind speed and roughness length were also analyzed. The results showed that the wind profiles fitted by the four models were generally in good agreement with the observed wind profiles with correlation coefficients greater than 0.98 and root mean square deviations less than 0.5 m s−1. For the offshore case, the fitting degree of all wind profile models improved with increasing mean wind speed. Specifically, the D-H model had the highest fitting degree when the horizontal mean wind speed at 40 m was in the range of 8–25 m s−1, while the log-law model had the highest fitting degree when the wind speed exceeded 30 m s−1. For the onshore case, the fitting degree of the four wind profile models deteriorated with increasing mean wind speed, and the log-law model had the highest fitting degree in all wind speed intervals from 8 to 30 m s−1. For both offshore and onshore cases, the power exponent was less affected by mean wind speed and increased with increasing roughness length, and the logarithmic empirical model proposed in this study could well characterize the relationship between the power exponent and roughness length.

The effect of static pressure-wind covariance on vertical carbon dioxide exchange at a windy subalpine forest site

Accounting for turbulent temperature and water vapor fluctuations on the vertical flux of CO2 measured by an open-path infrared gas analyzer are commonly known as the Webb–Pearman–Leuning (WPL) corrections. Static pressure fluctuations also affect air sample density, but the magnitude and effect of these changes on CO2 flux is not usually considered. In our study, the turbulent static pressure p and the vertical wind component w covariance w′p′¯ from just-above a Rocky Mountain subalpine forest are examined. The magnitude of w′p′¯ was highly correlated to the mean horizontal wind speed U with similar characteristics during the daytime and nighttime. The pressure term was calculated from w′p′¯ and compared to other terms in the equation for the vertical net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE). We found the following: (1) for U≲6 m s−1, the pressure term was small, (2) as U increased beyond 6 m s−1, the pressure term became more and more important reaching a magnitude of ≈ 2 μmol m−2 s−1 at U of 12 m s−1 (for leaf area index LAI ≈ 2.6 m2 m−2), (3) for a more dense forest (LAI ≈ 4.8 m2 m−2), the magnitude of the pressure term at U of 12 m s−1 was ≈ 1 μmol m−2 s−1, or about half the open forest value, and (4) based on 14 years of measurements, the interannual mean and standard deviation of the yearly cumulative pressure and NEE terms were −32.8± 24.5 g C m−2 year−1 and −147.4± 231.7 g C m−2 year−1, respectively. Therefore, on average, including the pressure term in the NEE calculation reduces the annual carbon uptake by the GLEES forest from 147.4 g C m−2 year−1 to 114.6 g C m−2 year−1. This implies that carbon uptake by forests in windy locations that ignore the pressure term can be overestimated by as much as 20%. However, the year-to-year variability of both NEE and the pressure term was large due to changes in the forest structure and LAI from beetle attack and tree die-off. Finally, we present results from sensor-manipulation experiments examining the effect of tilting the quad-disk pressure ports on the turbulent static pressure.

Characterization of vertical wind velocity variability based on fractal dimension analysis

Abstract Modelling and forecasting the temporal behaviour of wind is of substantial importance in a variety of applications, which depend largely on the understanding and quantification of its variability. Existing literature focusing on wind speed variability is predominantly associated with horizontal wind component, whereas the knowledge of vertical wind component is much less documented. This paper investigates the variability of vertical wind velocity in the context of fractal dimension analysis. It is shown that the time series of vertical wind velocity are monofractals and weak anti-persistent. The median value of fractal dimension decreases from 1.582 ​at 10 ​m height to 1.547 ​at 320 ​m height. The vertical profile of fractal dimension is strongly tied with atmospheric stability condition, in terms of both magnitude and profile shape, and the deviation is most pronounced at higher levels. Moreover, the fractal dimension is found to increase with the increase in the mean horizontal wind speed, which can be partly attributed to the effect of atmospheric stability. Such relationship is also height-dependent. Similar to the horizontal wind component, the fractal dimension of vertical wind component also exhibits a positive correlation with window width.

On the Momentum Flux of Vertically-Propagating Orographic Gravity Waves Excited in Nonhydrostatic Flow over Three-dimensional Orography

AbstractThis work studies nonhydrostatic effects (NHE) on the momentum flux of orographic gravity waves (OGWs) forced by isolated three-dimensional orography. Based on linear wave theory, an asymptotic expression for low horizonal Froude number ( where (U, V) is the mean horizontal wind, γ and a are the orography anisotropy and half-width and N is the buoyancy frequency) is derived for the gravity wave momentum flux (GWMF) of vertically-propagating waves. According to this asymptotic solution, which is quite accurate for any value of Fr, NHE can be divided into two terms (NHE1 and NHE2). The first term contains the high-frequency parts of the wave spectrum that are often mistaken as hydrostatic waves, and only depends on Fr. The second term arises from the difference between the dispersion relationships of hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic OGWs. Having an additional dependency on the horizontal wind direction and orography anisotropy, this term can change the GWMF direction. Examination of NHE for OGWs forced by both circular and elliptical orography reveals that the GWMF is reduced as Fr increases, at a faster rate than for two-dimensional OGWs forced by a ridge. At low Fr, the GWMF reduction is mostly attributed to the NHE2 term, whereas the NHE1 term starts to dominate above about Fr = 0.4. The behavior of NHE is mainly determined by Fr, while horizontal wind direction and orography anisotropy play a minor role. Implications of the asymptotic GWMF expression for the parameterization of nonhydrostatic OGWs in high-resolution and/or variable-resolution models are discussed.

Pyrocumulonimbus Firepower Threshold: Assessing the Atmospheric Potential for pyroCb

AbstractPyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds are difficult to predict and can produce extreme and unexpected wildfire behavior that can be very hazardous to fire crews. Many forecasters modify conventional thunderstorm diagnostics to predict pyroCb potential, by adding temperature (Δθ) and moisture increments (Δq) to represent smoke plume thermodynamics near the expected plume condensation level. However, estimating these Δθ and Δq increments is a highly subjective process that requires expert knowledge of all factors that might influence future fire size and intensity. In this paper, instead of trying to anticipate these Δθ and Δq increments for a particular fire, the minimum firepower required to generate pyroCb for a given atmospheric environment is considered. This concept, termed the pyroCb firepower threshold (PFT) requires only atmospheric information, removing the need for subjective estimates of the fire contribution. A simple approach to calculating PFT is presented that incorporates only basic plume-rise physics, yielding an analytic solution that offers important insight into plume behavior and pyroCb formation. Minimum increments of Δθ and Δq required for deep, moist convection, plus a minimum cloud-base height (zfc), are diagnosed on a thermodynamic diagram. Briggs’s plume rise equations are used to convert Δθ, zfc, and a mean horizontal wind speed U to a measure of the PFT: the minimum heat flux entering the base of the plume. This PFT is proportional to the product of U, Δθ, and the square of zfc. Plume behavior insights provided by the Briggs’s equations are discussed, and a selection of PFT examples presented.

Relationship between Horizontal Wind Velocity and Normalized Surface Cross Section Using Data from the HIWRAP Dual-Frequency Airborne Radar

AbstractThe High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) dual-frequency conically scanning airborne radar provides estimates of the range-profiled mean Doppler and backscattered power from the precipitation and surface. A velocity–azimuth display analysis yields near-surface estimates of the mean horizontal wind vector υh in cases in which precipitation is present throughout the scan. From the surface return, the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) is obtained, which, by a method previously described, can be corrected for path attenuation. Comparisons between υh and the attenuation-corrected NRCS are used to derive transfer functions that provide estimates of the wind vector from the NRCS data under both rain and rain-free conditions. A reasonably robust transfer function is found by using the mean NRCS (⟨NRCS⟩) over the scan along with a filtering of the data based on a Fourier series analysis of υh and the NRCS. The approach gives good correlation coefficients between υh and ⟨NRCS⟩ at Ku band at incidence angles of 30° and 40°. The correlation degrades if the Ka-band data are used rather than the Ku band.

Detection of structures in the horizontal wind field over complex terrain using coplanar Doppler lidar scans

Coplanar scans from three Doppler lidars are used to retrieve the horizontal wind field in a horizontal plane of about 5 km × 5 km in size above the city of Stuttgart in south-western Germany. Stuttgart is located in moderate mountainous terrain that is characterized by a basin-shaped valley (Stuttgart basin) which opens into the larger Neckar Valley. Using the retrieved horizontal wind field, which is available on 22 days with a temporal resolution of 1 min and a horizontal resolution of 100 m, we investigate the mesoscale structure of the horizontal flow in the valleys with respect to time of the day, stratification and wind above the mean ridge height, and determine how fast the cells in the convective boundary layer move downstream, i.e. we estimate the convection velocity. The measurements reveal a large spatial and temporal variability of the flow. During stable conditions, the flow below the mean ridge height is decoupled from the flow aloft and downvalley wind dominates in the valleys. At the opening of the Stuttgart basin into the Neckar Valley outflow dominates during nighttime, whereas inflow into the basin prevails in the early morning. During thermally unstable conditions the flow in the valleys is mainly coupled to the flow aloft with a preference for upvalley wind direction. Convective cells moving downstream are detected in the horizontal wind field and a method to estimate the convection velocity from the horizontal wind field measurements is presented. The mean convection velocity is found to be higher by 24 % than the mean horizontal wind speed at the same height and about similar to the wind speed 100 m further up.

A general-purpose analytical model for reconstructing the thunderstorm outflows of travelling downbursts immersed in ABL flows

A “downburst” is defined as a diverging wind system that occurs when a strong downdraft induces an outflow of damaging winds on or near the ground. Severe wind damage in many parts of the world are often due to thunderstorm outflows and their knowledge is therefore relevant for structural safety and design wind speed evaluation. Nevertheless, there is not yet a shared model for thunderstorm outflows and their actions on structures. In this paper, an analytical model that simulates the horizontal mean wind velocity originated from a travelling downburst is proposed. The horizontal wind velocity is expressed as the vector summation of three independent components: the stationary radial velocity generated by an impinging jet over a flat surface, the downdraft translating velocity, which corresponds to the parent cloud motion, and the boundary layer background wind field at the surface where the downburst is immersed. A parametric analysis is also developed and coupled with the analytical model aiming to investigate two observed downburst events and extract their main parameters – e.g. downdraft diameter, touch-down position, translating downdraft speed and direction, intensity and decay period - in order to reconstruct the space-time evolution of these events and validate the model itself.

Characteristics of the North Pacific Oscillation in CMIP5 Models in Relation to Atmospheric Mean States

AbstractThe North Pacific Oscillation (NPO), the second leading atmospheric mode in the North Pacific Ocean, is known to be responsible for climate variability and extremes in adjacent regions. The reproducibility of the NPO in climate models is thus a topic of interest for the more accurate prediction of climate extremes. By investigating the spatial characteristics of the NPO in models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), this study reveals the intimate relationship between the NPO structure and the atmospheric mean states over the North Pacific. The majority of the models reasonably capture the meridional contrast of pressure anomalies, but the detailed horizontal characteristics of the NPO are found to differ among the models. Diagnostic analysis of 30 climate models and long-term observations suggest that systematic bias in the mean atmospheric baroclinicity over the North Pacific crucially affects the horizontal shape and zonal position of the NPO. In the models in which the climatological continental trough over the western North Pacific extends farther to the east, the NPO tends to be simulated farther to the east, strengthening its impact on the downstream climate. In contrast, when the climatological continental trough is reduced in size toward the west, the growth of the NPO is limited to the west, and its influence is weakened downstream. This relationship can be understood via the altered available potential and kinetic energy conversions that feed the total energy of the NPO, primarily stemming from the difference in the mean horizontal temperature gradient and stretching deformation of the mean horizontal wind.

Review of models for predicting wind characteristics behind windbreaks

This paper reviews 5 existing models for predicting wind characteristics, namely the mean wind velocity and turbulence intensity, in the sheltered area of single or multi-row windbreaks. The paper briefly presents the mechanism of wind flow around windbreaks and then describes 5 models that predict the profiles of mean wind speed in the lee of windbreaks. These 5 models are the Schwartz model, the Engineering Sciences Data Unit (ESDU) model, the Středová model, the Hong model and the He model. The ESDU model can be used to estimate the mean horizontal wind speed profile and the turbulence intensity whilst the other 4 models are only capable of predicting the mean horizontal wind speed profile. By using existing wind speed datasets obtained from field measurements, laboratory tests and numerical simulations, the 5 models are assessed for their accuracy. It is found that the ESDU model is the most accurate for predicting the mean horizontal wind speed for flow regions behind a single windbreak. Behind multi-row windbreaks, the He model is found to provide the most accurate estimates of horizontal wind speed. In the case of predicting turbulence intensity, the ESDU model provides acceptable predictions, but unfortunately very limited data exist to validate these predictions. While the performance of these models is adequate, there is still much work to be done to further develop them and to address their current limitations.

Façade scaffolding behaviour under wind action

The main objective of the study was to estimate the mean horizontal wind action on a façade scaffolding on the basis of full-scale data. Measurements of climatic parameters were carried out for a number of façade scaffoldings (120 structures) located in Poland over a 30-month period. The measurement points were located on 2–3 deck levels of each structure and at 2–4 points placed in each level. The measurements were carried out 3–4 times during each day for 5 consecutive days. At each point, two components of wind speed were measured: first with the vane probe directed perpendicular to the façade and then parallel to the façade. Each measurement lasted 60 s, and the data were recorded every 1 s. On the basis of wind speeds, a procedure was suggested that enabled estimation of the static wind action on façade scaffoldings. The responses of structures to this action were computed via FEM simulations. The results were compared with those based on the approaches recommended by the wind and scaffolding codes. Initial analyses, illustrated by three scaffoldings without a protective cover, indicated large discrepancies between the approaches and the possibility of wind action, which is not considered in the codes.