"James L. Freeman" wrote in message
om...
Can someone offer a non-mathematical EXPLANATION (as opposed to
DESCRIPTION) of why the speed of headwind and crosswind components of
a wind add up to more than the speed of the wind?

Thanks.

I'm not sure where James's question was going, but here is an example as I
just copied it minutes ago from:

http://www.edwards.af.mil/weather/index.html
02/25/2004 16:57 LCL Rwy 4 Wind 216 Deg at 2 Kts Cross Wind 4 Kts

Note the runway crosswind is reported higher than the wind velocity. I would
be delighted if someone could explain this -specific- condition.