Flow Interaction with TopographyGap Winds

Schematic of synoptic scale high and low pressure centers on either side of a gap in terrain and the resulting flow through the gap

Gap winds occur when there is a large pressure differential across a ridge. Wind then accelerates from high to low pressure through gaps in the ridge, sometimes reaching hurricane force near the gap exit. Nares Strait, separating Greenland from Ellesmere Island is notorious for a northerly gap wind (Samelson and Barbour, 2008). Gap winds also occur between isles composing the Svalbard Islands, Canadian Archipelago, and Aleutian Islands.