Crossword Genius

Severe wind coming with energy (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

austere

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'severe' is the definition.
(I know that severe can be written as austere)

'wind coming with energy' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'wind' could be 'auster' (I've seen this before) and 'auster' is present in the answer.
'energy' could be 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mc2) and 'e' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for austere that I've seen before include "Severe in manner" , "Severe, lacking comforts" , "'Spartan, simple (7)'" , "Spartan and abstemious" , "Serious" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app