DALLAS -- As North Texas is issued a high wind advisory drivers are finding another factor helping to drain their wallet at the pump -- Mother Nature.

Wind is a key to fuel economy and unless it is at your back, high winds cut gas mileage.

"If you have a long distance to go, you would see it in your gas mileage, very apparent," said Dr. Volkan Ortugen of the Southern Methodist University Mechanical Engineering Department. "It should get more important, because that is an important piece of the puzzle."

Truck drivers said they have also felt the effect of wind with fuel prices so high.

"You riding into the wind, coming forward, yea you're going to burn more fuel if you're going into the wind, of course," said Jerald Henry.

Windy weather may reduce fuel economy more for a boxy sport utility vehicle than a sleek car, and many big rigs have special wind deflectors to cut drag that really hurts trucks.

"When the window is down, (the wind) will take you -- sort of like push the cab a little bit," Henry said.

Ortugen said a well-maintained vehicle will help drivers use less fuel.

"The size and shape of the tires, how well the treads are, how well the engine, the transmission system is, all of these come into the picture," he said.