The Angry Winds

In meteorological terms, wind is the movement of air from a high pressure area to one of low pressure. It’s the same principle as when air escapes a balloon. The greater the pressure difference between the outside and the inside of the balloon (or the more air is blown into the balloon before letting go), the stronger the resulting puff.

In nature, atmospheric space is filled by the sun’s rays warming the earth’s surface. When the air above a ground exposed to the sun warms up, it rises. As warm air goes up, cooler air from the sea moves in to replace the rising air, and wind is created.

Sometimes the process of air displacement and replacement becomes rather too wild. In some places, especially in mountainous areas, the winds blow harder. There, it is common to hear a light roar or a deafening howl of the wind. The sound hints of force, of power and of fury.

On mountains, the air masses are compressed between the ceiling of warm air above and the rising slope. The squeezing speeds up the air flow. It’s like water in a hosepipe: when the hose is squeezed, pressure is created; and water is pushed out at greater speed so that it spurts farther.

Mountain people are quite used to intense winds. There’s a tale of a practice among them of checking the weather by poking a hole in the ground and sticking a crowbar in it. If the crowbar bends, that means the wind is normal. If it breaks off, it’s a windy day. Most of the time, wind sweeps unnoticed – until it rages.

In the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia this elemental force blows stronger during a monsoon, which comes all year round but quite frequently from April to October. Monsoon winds can grow very wild, like in a typhoon even if there’s none. They often bring torrential rains, too; they pool clouds to a vortex and cause heavy downpours.

Abrupt weather changes during a monsoon, sometimes taking place in just a matter of minutes, have been a common cause of accidents, with people often caught in surprise. Sudden winds strong enough to blow away rooftops, shatter car windows, throw motorcyclists off the road, and overturn small sea crafts are common reports. And, particularly in cities where the drainage system is helpless in containing the quick buildup of rainwater, surprise downpours easily result in flash floods. Everywhere, rivers overflow.

The same flight of fury also leaves its mark in sculpted sand dunes and carved seaside cliffs. Winds stir the landscape and make it dance, like a huge finger swirling the sky, bringing good fortune to a place, disaster to another, and touching every life form in its path. Winds can provide usable electrical power as well as destroy lives and property.

The human mind, more than the body, seems most affected by the windy onslaughts. Aside from accidents, statistics indicate that suicides and heart attacks rise during periods when the winds blow hard. Even the most wind-hardened people are not totally invulnerable. In Alaska, where the wind can blow so strongly that it rattles teeth and nerves, some Eskimos go chasing the wind with clubs and bolos, out of desperation of the misery it brings them. The incessant howling is said to drive people out of their minds.

All cultures have folklores about the wind. The most common one is that the wind is the breath of the gods. When the gods are pleased with humankind, they blow softly to make a soothing sound and give a pampering caress. But when they’re angry, they blow with all their might like a mad monster that masticates anything within its reach.

Despite scientific explanations, the behavior of the wind remains a mystery to many. What makes the wind angry is still widely a stuff of legends.