Turning a corner on a river

I was wondering if I could use ideas from the flow of water round the bend in a river to explain some of the factors that produce gusts in wind. I had assumed that water flows faster round the outside of a bend because it has to move faster to keep up with the water on the inside. It's more complicated than that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meander The Governing Physics section of the article explains the Secondary Flow. A thin layer of water touching the sand at the bottom of the stream has zero velocity but pressure still acts to move it inwards. The opposite happens above the surface so laterally there is a circulation, producing a sort of spiral effect as the general flow of water is along. This needs a lot more thinking about and still doesn't help me much with the gusts.