Windiest cities in America

Joe Tabacca // Shutterstock In April 1934, the U.S. recorded its highest wind speed ever, a gust of 231 miles per hour at Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire. The Mount Washington weather station, situated at the highest point in New England, continues to record high wind speeds, averaging 35.8 miles per hour between 1984 and 2020. Wind is caused by varying levels of pressure in the Earth’s atmosphere. Air pressure is influenced by air temperature and density. And uneven heating caused by Earth’s rotation around the sun and on its own axis creates global circulation patterns Wind patterns also become more pronounced during different seasons. Throughout the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, windy jet stream patterns tend to shift further south, but as summer approaches jet streams lift northward. Many cities on the list find themselves in the middle of this transition during spring. Wind speeds aren’t universal across the U.S. Besides seasonal changes, topography also plays a role in which regions are the windiest. Plains states, relatively flat and without natural barriers like mountains, can develop higher wind speeds than other regions. Some of the top cities on the list are also located at high elevations. Stacker cited data from NOAA to identify the 50 windiest cities in the U.S. Cities are ranked by average wind speed between January 1984 and December 2020. Maximum monthly average wind speeds served as a tiebreaker. Wind speeds are calculated by NOAA 1.5 meters above the surface of the weather station. The analysis is limited to cities with populations of at least 50,000 according to Census 2021 estimates. Chicago, famously dubbed the Windy City, makes the top 50 list but falls short of the number one spot. Its famous skyline, featuring some of the tallest buildings in the U.S., can intensify winds as gusts flow around skyscrapers and create higher-speed wind channels. The Willis Tower can even sway up to three feet on the top floor during windy days. Combined with the breezes from Lake Michigan, it seems the Windy City has still earned its moniker. Read on to see the full list and see which cities beat Chicago. You may also like: 100 cities where summer is starting earlier #50. Grand Rapids, Michigan Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: January and April (tie) (10.8 miles per hour on average) #49. Bridgeport, Connecticut Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: March (10.8 miles per hour on average) #48. Norfolk, Virginia Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: March and April (tie) (10.9 miles per hour on average) #47. West Palm Beach, Florida Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: March (11 miles per hour on average) #46. Indianapolis, Indiana KYPhua // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: March and April (tie) (11.1 miles per hour on average) You may also like: County with the most severe weather in every state #45. San Angelo, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.2 miles per hour on average) #44. Columbia, Missouri Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: March and April (tie) (11.2 miles per hour on average) #43. Colorado Springs, Colorado John Hoffman // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.4 miles per hour on average) #42. Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota ostreetphotography // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.6 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.1 miles per hour on average) #41. Cleveland, Ohio Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.6 miles per hour – Windiest month: January (11.4 miles per hour on average) You may also like: What hurricane season was like the year you were born #40. Pocatello, Idaho B Brown // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.6 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.5 miles per hour on average) #39. Newark, New Jersey Canva – Annual average wind speed: 9.8 miles per hour – Windiest month: March (11.2 miles per hour on average) #38. Des Moines, Iowa Grindstone Media Group // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.8 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.4 miles per hour on average) #37. Waterloo, Iowa Sam Wagner // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.8 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.9 miles per hour on average) #36. Lincoln, Nebraska Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.8 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12 miles per hour on average) You may also like: States with the worst droughts #35. Chicago, Illinois marchello74 // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 9.9 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.2 miles per hour on average) #34. Duluth, Minnesota Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.1 miles per hour on average) #33. Waco, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10 miles per hour – Windiest month: March and April (tie) (11.3 miles per hour on average) #32. Omaha, Nebraska Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.8 miles per hour on average) #31. Erie, Pennsylvania Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10 miles per hour – Windiest month: January (12 miles per hour on average) You may also like: Why does lightning strike? And answers to 50 other weather questions #30. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Tony Savino // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.1 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.4 miles per hour on average) #29. Worcester, Massachusetts Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.2 miles per hour – Windiest month: February (11.5 miles per hour on average) #28. Sioux Falls, South Dakota Steven Frame // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.2 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12 miles per hour on average) #27. Grand Forks, North Dakota Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.3 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (11.3 miles per hour on average) #26. Honolulu, Hawaii Leigh Trail // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.3 miles per hour – Windiest month: July (11.9 miles per hour on average) You may also like: How weather has shaped human history #25. Kansas City, Missouri TommyBrison // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.3 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.1 miles per hour on average) #24. Dubuque, Iowa Dawid S Swierczek // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.3 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.3 miles per hour on average) #23. Buffalo, New York Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.3 miles per hour – Windiest month: January (12.4 miles per hour on average) #22. Brownsville, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.4 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.4 miles per hour on average) #21. Sioux City, Iowa Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.4 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.4 miles per hour on average) You may also like: 15 ways to stay cool this summer without AC #20. San Francisco, California Pete Niesen // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: May and June (tie) (13.8 miles per hour on average) #19. Rapid City, South Dakota Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.6 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.6 miles per hour on average) #18. Billings, Montana Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.7 miles per hour – Windiest month: January (13.4 miles per hour on average) #17. Midland-Odessa, Texas NaturallyKristina // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 10.9 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.7 miles per hour on average) #16. Abilene, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 10.9 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (13 miles per hour on average) You may also like: States with the most power outages #15. Fargo, North Dakota Canva – Annual average wind speed: 11.1 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.3 miles per hour on average) #14. Grand Island, Nebraska Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 11.1 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (13.4 miles per hour on average) #13. Galveston, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 11.2 miles per hour – Windiest month: May (12.7 miles per hour on average) #12. Wichita Falls, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 11.2 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (12.8 miles per hour on average) #11. New York, New York Thiago Leite // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 11.2 miles per hour – Windiest month: March (12.9 miles per hour on average) You may also like: Major cities with the biggest projected water shortages by 2040 #10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 11.3 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (13.3 miles per hour on average) #9. Boston, Massachusetts lunamarina // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 11.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: March (12.8 miles per hour on average) #8. Wichita, Kansas Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 11.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (13.3 miles per hour on average) #7. Great Falls, Montana Canva – Annual average wind speed: 11.5 miles per hour – Windiest month: January and December (tie) (14 miles per hour on average) #6. Corpus Christi, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 11.7 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (13.8 miles per hour on average) You may also like: States with the most severe summer weather #5. Rochester, Minnesota IMG_191 // Shutterstock – Annual average wind speed: 12 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (13.6 miles per hour on average) #4. Lubbock, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 12 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (14.3 miles per hour on average) #3. Casper, Wyoming Canva – Annual average wind speed: 12 miles per hour – Windiest month: January (15.5 miles per hour on average) #2. Cheyenne, Wyoming Canva – Annual average wind speed: 12.2 miles per hour – Windiest month: January (14.3 miles per hour on average) #1. Amarillo, Texas Canva – Annual average wind speed: 12.9 miles per hour – Windiest month: April (14.7 miles per hour on average) You may also like: What summer weather was like the year you were born