Continuing on the thought of ground friction effects on wind...

I was in a red oak in a wooded area yesterday during some really strong gusts. We had a front coming through late in the day that was pushing against some warm southern air.

During the hard gusts the leaves on the ground were barely moving. The upper canopy on the other hand was rocking and rolling with upper branches crashing together like giant deer antlers. In a nearby schoolyard the wind was down low whipping up a dust tornado and throwing debris around.

The thick stand of hardwoods was creating a protective effect from about 50ft. down. The tops thrashed around and the boles were moving but no damage done by the wind. There were a couple of good cracking sounds from breaking dead branches but that was about it.
-moss