Boston Is One Of The Windiest Places In The Country
I never thought there was a significant difference between the weather patterns of New Jersey and Massachusetts. Sure, maybe the winters are a bit more harsh in Massachusetts, and the temperatures are slightly lower. But recently, I read in Redfin that Boston is one of the windiest cities in America, and now it is starting to make sense.
Last week, the winds along the south shore whipped for days. The sounds overnight were so loud the windows shook in every room of the house. Hockey nets tumbled over in the driveway, and I spent Sunday cleaning branches out of my backyard again. Five months ago, a single afternoon of heavy winds ripped the skylight out of my porch and sent it 40 yards deep into the woods. In August of 2022, a massive oak tree fell in my front yard and landed on the roof of my house. The year before, the same thing happened to my neighbor. None of these incidents involved heavy rain or typical seasonal “storms.” It was all wind.
Finally, I needed to know: what was going on here? Is this a coincidence? Well, as Redfin pointed out, there is data to prove that in 2024, Boston is, in fact, one of the windiest cities across the country. And here I thought Chicago was the “Windy City.”
Boston Ranks 6th For Wind In America
According to this report, Boston is the first major city among the top 10 windy places in America. Only smaller markets in Texas, Wichita, and Rochester, Minnesota rank above Boston. First, let’s answer the burning question.
“Contrary to popular belief, Chicago is not the windiest city in the United States. That honor goes to Boston, Massachusetts, which boasts wind speeds that are regularly up to two miles per hour faster than Chicago’s,” the Skydeck explains. They also point out the reason behind the Windy City nickname has a lot to do with politics going back to the late 1800’s.
“The strongest storms come from the collision of cold Canadian air and warm air from the southern Atlantic, which bring heavy rain, snow, and wind as they move northward (from warm to cold),” Redfin states, detailing why Boston is so high on this list. Furthermore, they detail the average wind speed 11.5mph. The highest recorded was 90mp in 2019. For context, the windiest city according to this report is Amarillo, Texas, where the average wind speed is just slightly higher at 12.9mph.
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