2 South Dakota Cities Among the Windiest Cities in America
I challenge you to find a day when it's not windy in South Dakota. If we have two or three days a month when there's not some kind of breeze we can consider ourselves lucky.
Living in Sioux Falls, it's hard to believe there are windier places in the nation. I live next door to a woman named Gail Force for crying out loud, but, oddly enough, we are just about in the middle of the pack when it comes to the windiest cities in America.
Where Are South Dakota's Windiest Cities?
The website Stacker used weather data from NOAA compiled between January 1984 through December 2020 to determine the Top 50 windiest cities in America based on average daily wind speeds. You should know their findings were tied to communities with a population base of at least 50,000 people.
Using that data, the website WhatsUpNewp.com then ranked the Top 50 windiest cities in the country,
Chicago has a reputation as the windy city, however, it is far from it. Believe it or not, Chicago showed up at #35 on the list, bested by the two South Dakota cities that made the list.
How Windy is Sioux Falls?
Sioux Falls blew in at #28, according to the findings. South Dakota's largest city has an average daily wind speed of 10.2 miles per hour.
And you better hold on to your hat in the spring, our windiest month of the year is April. Supposedly the average daily wind speed in Sioux Falls during the month of April increases to 12 mph. Now maybe if they were to replace the 1 with a 3, I'd place a little more credence in their findings. Anyone who has lived here long enough knows it's breezier than that most days, especially in the spring!
How Windy is Rapid City?
Here's another shocker, Rapid City is even windier than Sioux Falls. WhatsUpNewp says the average wind speed in Rapid is 10.6 miles per hour each day, making them #19 on the list.
Where is the Windiest City in the U.S.?
If you hate the wind, just be glad you're not living in Amarillo, Texas, they now hold the title for being the breeziest city in the nation with an average daily wind speed of 12.9 miles per hour.
If you're wondering what the highest wind speed ever to be recorded in the U.S. was outside of a severe weather event, we'll need to go back to the year 1934 in New Hampshire.
According to the folks at WhatsUpNewp.com, a 231-mile-per-hour gust was recorded that year at the Mount Washington Observatory. Now that will relocate your lawn furniture, probably all the way to Cuba!
Source: WhatsUpNewp.com