Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

So...wouldn't humid 20 mph wind pack more punch than dry air of the same speed? does it have more grunt/torque behind it?[/rquote Nope. Humid air is less dense than dry air. :D

well i guess this is why i didnt become a meteorologist...just thougt it was
and what about density of the air w/ high or low pressure?
im gonna have to google this stuff but im thinking out loud

High pressure, low temperature, dry air is the most dense.

Edit. And obviously air with liquid or solid water (rain,snow,hail) will have even more "grunt'. Also worth noting is that rainy air is more "dense" than haily(?) air, ie. more grunt in your kite. :D

To answer the original question - As I understand it, the average anemometer is efficient enough that air density doesn't affect the reading much. You might want to calibrate your professional grade anemometer for different altitudes and weather you need it to be within less than 5% error.

I've been out kiting with people who have those handheld wind meters and you will feel the difference in power when humidity/temperature are different from one day to the next even though the speed reading is the same for both days. You do have to get a sense of the conditions locally to even have a sense of what a wind speed means power-wise. The wind meters do seem to be reporting pretty close to the actual wind speed, as strange as it may seem with air density as a factor.

Can't seem to find any good information on the web to back this up, but if anyone happens to come across something, I am interested in knowing the truth!