Researcher(s)
- William Slater, , University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Kelsey Malloy, Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
Heat is one of the world’s top causes of weather-related deaths (World Health Organization, 2026). With the presence of climate change, wind energy has an increased electrical grid penetration; it must be ensured that there is enough wind for these turbines to operate so they can provide sufficient energy to the grid for air conditioning. This research study seeks to explain what synoptic-scale weather conditions caused the late June to early July 2026 heat wave over the east coast of the United States. Reanalysis wind speed, mean sea level pressure (MSLP), temperature, and geopotential height have been studied to answer this question. Time series displays of this data show the progression of the weather system from June 25 to July 7, 2026. Average daily wind speeds are low throughout this timeframe. Temperature increases from the first day of the event and peaks around July 3, 2026, along with geopotential height at its peak over the east coast on July 3 as well. Average temperatures on the east coast on July 3, 2026 surpassed 16 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. With this analysis, it can be concluded that low wind speeds throughout the heat wave event posed an issue to wind turbines and their ability to harvest energy. However, even though July 3, 2026 had the highest average temperature in the dataset, MSLP was not at its highest point nor wind speed at its lowest point. June 30 experienced the highest anomaly MSLP and June 27 had the lowest anomaly wind level. From these findings, analyses of future heat wave scenarios should take into account that these conditions may all occur at different times throughout the event, as this can have an impact on how the production and demand of wind energy can be predicted.