Observed surface wind speed trends inferred from homogenized in situ data and reanalysis datasets
Date
2026
Authors
Wang, Xioalan
Feng, Yang
Isaac, Victor
Zwiers, Francis W.
Vincent, Lucie A.
Hartwell, Megan H.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Atmosphere-Ocean
Abstract
This paper describes the development of an updated Canadian homogenized monthly mean wind speed dataset, CanHomW mlyV2, for the period 1953–2023 and characterizes observed changes in surface wind speed across Canada. Hourly data from 154 stations in Canada were first quality controlled and adjusted for any non-standard anemometer heights. Then, monthly mean wind speed series were derived and subject to a semi-automated comprehensive data homogenization procedure to identify and diminish non-climatic changes. The procedure uses a combination of station metadata and multiple statistical tests with and without using reference series. The results of the automated procedure were reviewed manually. All of the 154 data series were identified to have one or more non-climatic changes, which were diminished by quantile matching adjustments. Station relocation and/or joining (i.e. joining of different stations’ data records into one data series), and instrument changes/problems were found to be the main causes of non-climatic changes.
The homogenized dataset shows weakening winds in a large part of southern Canada (spanning from the southern Prairies to Labrador) and strengthening winds in most other regions, particularly in the area that spans south-central British Columbia to the Rocky Mountains. The weakening winds in the southern Prairies are also seen consistently in the three modern reanalysis datasets (ERA5, OCADA, 20CRv3), while the four datasets show inconsistent trends in most of the other regions. The Canadian wind trends show notable seasonality, as do the agreement/disagreement among the four datasets.
Description
Keywords
UN SDG 13: Climate Action, #journal article, Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), surface wind speeds, homogeneity tests, data homogenization, trend analysis, reanalysis data, climate change
Citation
Wang, X. L., Feng, Y., Isaac, V., Zwiers, F. W., Vincent, L. A., & Hartwell, M. M. (2026). Observed surface wind speed trends inferred from homogenized in situ data and reanalysis datasets. Atmosphere-Ocean, 64(2), 115–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2025.2570920