Understanding Wind Damage in the United States
Wind can be a huge source of damage for many homeowners in the United States. However, unfortunately, many homeowners don’t take this source of damage seriously. Instead, they focus on many other potential sources of damage. It’s important to nullify wind damage just like any other types of damage. Here’s what you should know about wind damage in the United States.
The 20 Windiest Cities in the United States
It can be helpful to know the windiest cities across the United States when you’re trying to understand wind concerns. Thankfully, the National Centers for Environmental Information have been collecting this data since 1984. Here are the 20 windiest cities on average according to the NCEI.
- Mt. Washington, NH: 35.7
- Dodge City, KS: 13.1
- Amarillo, TX: 12.9
- Cheyenne, WY: 12.3
- Goodland, KS: 12.1
- Rochester, MN: 12.1
- Clayton, NM: 12.1
- Lubbock, TX: 12.0
- Casper, WY: 12.0
- Corpus Christie, TX: 11.7
- Wichita, KS: 11.5
- Boston, MA: 11.5
- Great Falls, MT: 11.4
- New York, NY: 11.3
- Oklahoma City, OK: 11.3
- Wichita Falls, TX: 11.2
- Grand Island, NE: 11.2
- Fargo, ND: 11.1
- Galveston, TX: 11.1
- Concordia, KS: 11.0
Most cities are within a few miles per hour of each other, but Mount Washington is far above them all, clocking in at more than twice the second-place speed. That’s because Mount Washington is known for its incredibly fast speeds; it’s mostly home to a scientific station rather than home to actual people.
Wind Speed Trends Throughout the United States
The 20 windiest cities seem to tell a story of wind speeds being higher in the plains – 10 of the 20 cities are in either Kansas, Texas, or Oklahoma. However, when you map wind speed across the United States, this trend doesn’t actually play out.
When you look at a map of average wind speeds, you’ll instead see that average wind speeds in MPH tend to peak in the Northeast United States and tend to be lower in the Southwest United States. In general, these plains wind speeds are an exception rather than a rule.
Property Damage From Wind
Just seeing miles per hour listed isn’t necessarily going to convince you that you should be careful when it comes to wind-related property damage. What will convince you to do this is a deeper understanding of the property damage that wind can inflict.
This is because wind is deadly. If you don’t have a wind brace on your roof, a wind tunnel through your home can tear your roof off. Talk to an expert to learn more about whether or not your home may need windproofing upgrades.
