wind in reno and lake tahoe area (Sparks, Spanish Springs: tax, living)

[AAAplus]

I am considering a number of locations in southern oregon, northern nevada, and northern california.

how do the reno winds affect individuals of different temperaments (personalities)?

personally I absolutely hate wind, no exceptions, period -

how many days per year have wind? is the wind predictable by the season or time of year?

is the lake tahoe area at 6000 feet better or worse?

are certain areas of reno better or worse than others?

thank you

[mamacatnv]

Its windy pretty much all the time, some depends on where you are. Example the wind might be howling in the N. valleys at the base of Peavine and in Washoe Valley and be just breezy in the center of town.

If you hate wind, personally I would scratch Reno and the surrounding areas off of your list
I don't know what its like up at the Lake (Tahoe) didn't go up there much

Like all cities there are good, bad, better and very desirable areas to live in. Depends on budget, what you are looking for, proximity to what etc. Overall Reno/Sparks is not that big and living just about anywhere will give you access to just about everything within about a half hours drive

[=Lavender=]

If you don't like wind this is NOTTTTTTTTTTTT the place for you.

[AAAplus]

thanks for the responses. perhaps Reno's 275 sunny days compensate for the wind

would lake tahoe be better since it's not at the base of the mountains like Reno ???

would Sparks be better since it's further from the mountains ???

for me, it's looking at the political differences between oregon and california versus nevada, and also affordable housing, tax policies, and starting a business. I mean, I might take nevada - even with the horrendous wind - if the democrat party retains control this fall in federal office !

but seriously, politics aside, if you know of a less windy place on the CA / NV border i'd appreciate it !!! thanks.......

[lovingthegreen]

Originally Posted by AAAplus

thanks for the responses. perhaps Reno's 275 sunny days compensate for the wind

would lake tahoe be better since it's not at the base of the mountains like Reno ???

would Sparks be better since it's further from the mountains ???

for me, it's looking at the political differences between oregon and california versus nevada, and also affordable housing, tax policies, and starting a business. I mean, I might take nevada - even with the horrendous wind - if the democrat party retains control this fall in federal office !

but seriously, politics aside, if you know of a less windy place on the CA / NV border i'd appreciate it !!! thanks.......

I lived in Reno for 12 years and, just like you, hate the wind and absolutely hated that aspect of Reno. That was obviously not the only reason I ended up leaving Reno, but it was definitely one of the things that I was very happy leaving behind.

I just saw in the South Lake Tahoe thread on the first page that it is not nearly as windy there.

I'm guessing Sparks would most likely be very similar to Reno in terms of the wind. There are also (lower) mountains on the east side, and Sparks is not that much further from the larger mountains than Reno is.

[wolfdog]

Which area of the valley has the least wind? Or, is that even possible?

[braindead0]

I've been gathering weather data from 12 weather stations in and around Reno, Spanish Springs and vicinity as part of my 'Compare weather to places I'm familiar with program'.

The data I'm looking at currently covers 10/01/2011 through 06/08/2012 in hourly increments. Max recorded speed for the area was 43mph. Max daily average 10.44mph. Out of the 231 days in this database the Reno/Sparks area had 37 days with > 5mph average wind speed. Spanish Springs 23 days. By comparison, Canton Ohio had 50 days of > 5mph winds, Simi Valley California 16 days, Santa Cruz California 7. Santa Cruz California also had the single windiest day in my data, 59.5mph.

Point is that 'Windy' is a relative term. From these observations I can say that the Reno area tends to have some days of pretty strong winds but the average is less windy than Canton and Santa Cruz beat it in gusts..

As far as which areas are best and worst. Out of what I'm tracking the gustiest areas are Northeast Sparks, South Reno, Silver Lake which all had gusts over 40mph. I was unable to find any particular 'best area, everywhere seems to have gusty days.

Bear in mind this is a limited dataset, I gathered this simply so I could compare the area to areas we're familiar with. I've got more just not handy right now.

[.highnlite]

Windier on the west closer to the mountains, less windy as you move east, Sparks, Hidden Valley etc, are generally less windy. Generally.

[braindead0]

here's something interesting related to wind, updated hourly

Wind Map

[=Lavender=]

i was having breakfast today at the Postal Cafe in Washoe outside and my, english muffin and 4 strips of bacon flew off my plate an that was at 9am... lol We had to move inside since it was a VERY windy morning in Washoe.