Wind reality in Carson Valley vs Dayton (Reno, Sparks: HOA, assessors)

[Paintchip]

When comparing weather info from several sources it seems the wind is less in the Carson valley areas of Gardnerville and Minden than it is in Dayton? Can anyone living in these areas share their opinion on if that seems to be true?

Also it seems there is more new construction in Dayton these days. The town seems to be growing. Is there local shopping areas to support the growth? Any big box stores, etc?

Thanks in Advance for any info you care to share.

[braindead0]

What sources? Even in small towns there can often be many different sensors, some on the tops of mountains and the data can be combined in multiple ways (mode, mead, median) to arrive at a number for a particular city which bears very little resemblance to reality or even perceived wind.

Point is that these numbers are very good for comparing to numbers derived from the same data sources and combined in the same exact manner, nothing more.

A lot of people say Reno is "always windy".. it's 0mph right now.. was the same last night.. Buy a kite and you'll find that it's not all that windy all that often ;-)

[utsci]

Wind in Nevada is all relative. It's windy in the desert. That's why it's a desert. The only way to truly know if where you want to live is windier than you want is to spend some time there. Other good ways is to watch news articles about what areas get hit hardest during storms. Same with flooding. Areas of Johnson Lane in Minden have gotten landscaping washed away twice now in the last few years. Something wrong with the drainage plan out there I'd say. Wind...where are fences, trees, roofs being damaged in storms? Where we happen to live is not immune to wind. But we have built our fence to stand up to the test of time, bought better rated shingles when we re-roofed, and yes we lost a few big trees in the February wind storm. It's part of living here. I would choose a place to live based on where you feel the most comfortable, like the area, the general vibe works for you. When we bought our house we spent hours driving around our selected neighborhoods at all times of the day, garbage day (it's interesting to see what people put out, do they recycle, is it messy), in the morning when kids are going to school (do they walk = safe, are there kids in the neighborhood,teenagers, little ones, retirees) in the afternon during the summer to assess the zephyr winds coming off the mountains, in the evenings (are people out for a walk, riding bikes, are they revving big motorcycles up and down the street)in the winter do the streets get plowed on a timely basis, how long does it take to get to work from different locations, what is the property across from the subdivision (out on the main drag) zoned for (go to the county assessors office), ...

The way I would view the wind situation for the two locations is this...Minden/Gardnerville are pretty close to the mountains to the west and the Pine Nut range to the east, in a bowl. They are going to get the downdrafts off the mountains in the afternoon, particularly with the thermal conduction in the summer. There are glider pilots who come from all over the world to take advantage of that. On the other hand, Dayton is flat all around, not much to break the wind as it sweeps across the flatness, but probably not subject to the obvious afternoon winds off the mountains since they are not as close as they are to Minden/Gville. Which would I choose? I happen to like the green pastures, mountain scenery of Minden and Gardnerville. We lived there when we first moved to NV. On the other hand it was not a good commute for either of us so we ended up moving to the south end of Washoe County instead. Still have Mt. Rose and the Sierras in view from our windows, yes we get wind off the mountains, but the location meets our needs and we have wonderful neighbors. Now my commute is 7 minutes.

For amenities like big box stores, google your favorites and pull up a map of store locations. There are plenty of grocery stores and fast food places in both areas, but you are not going to find malls with major department stores. If Lowes/Home Depot/Walmart/Target, etc are important then you need to determine how far you are willing to drive. Some are close some are not.

There's a million ways to figure out where you want to live here. But no matter where you live there will be wind. Don't buy a glass-topped patio table.

[wolfdog]

Originally Posted by braindead0

What sources? Even in small towns there can often be many different sensors, some on the tops of mountains and the data can be combined in multiple ways (mode, mead, median) to arrive at a number for a particular city which bears very little resemblance to reality or even perceived wind.

Point is that these numbers are very good for comparing to numbers derived from the same data sources and combined in the same exact manner, nothing more.

A lot of people say Reno is "always windy".. it's 0mph right now.. was the same last night.. Buy a kite and you'll find that it's not all that windy all that often ;-)

Yes, I'd like to know the sources, as well, since I'm looking for the least windy areas of Reno/Sparks.

[utsci]

It's windy in south Washoe County today.

[Hotfeet]

Some of the realtors I've met have strong opinions about winds that they are happy to share. Not sure how accurate those opinions are -- but they might give you some leads for further investigation, especially if those realtors have lived in the area for a while and don't have a reason to steer you to a specific area of town. I've heard from a realtor that Somersett is windier than SW Reno but I don't have any other sources that would back that up.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Hotfeet

Some of the realtors I've met have strong opinions about winds that they are happy to share. Not sure how accurate those opinions are -- but they might give you some leads for further investigation, especially if those realtors have lived in the area for a while and don't have a reason to steer you to a specific area of town. I've heard from a realtor that Somersett is windier than SW Reno but I don't have any other sources that would back that up.

Somersett and parts of SW & NW Reno are all very windy. Homes that are West of Mc Carran get lots of wind which is exacerbated by the ridges on which many of the homes are built. The area south of Peavine and North of Mae Anne has a reputation for being the windiest area in Reno. I lived in SW Reno (Caughlin Ranch) and it was windy..miserably windy. You 'sort of' get used to it and if you want to spend time outside you generally time it to avoid the worst wind which is usually mid to late afternoon. If you buy in a windy area do NOT get a yard that is unshielded and faces west, you would do better to get a house that faces west with the house providing shelter from the wind for your backyard. We had a huge deck and lived on top of a ridge. One of our neighbors put in framed 6' glass panels all around their deck as a wind break and the wind busted the glass . My husband worked in North Valley and had all the paint peeled off his BMW in a windstorm and I had to have my windshield replaced after driving through a windstorm on my way to Carson City.

No one told us about the wind before we moved to Reno, we talked to 5 or 6 realtors and NOT one mentioned it, we are backyard kind of people, love to BBQ and garden and had we known about the wind we certainly would not have bought the house we did in that location.

[utsci]

I would opt for a home in your preferred neighborhood. Then figure out the wind patterns for your patio where you spend the most time (as we do) and build a wind break of some sort. Obviously glass never works when it's up against wind, just like a glass patio table. We opted for some tall cedars and thuja bushes. They also give us some privacy from the neighbors. But it was all very easy to incorporate into the landscape. Just be sure you are preserving any spectacular views of the mountains when the trees have reached full height. And if you live in an HOA area your neighbors may have something to say about their views as well.

[Paintchip]

Thanks everyone for your input. That was helpful!

[tomchard]

Originally Posted by Paintchip

Thanks everyone for your input. That was helpful!

... Very Interesting contributions from everyone! ... I didn't realize that moving air (wind!) presented any problems there.
Thanks for the great posts that (for some reason) I hadn't-yet read.