Is Chicago really 'The Windy City?'

Chicago's nickname had nothing to do with the weather, but it still may be true.

Chicago is often called “The Windy City,” and while many think the nickname comes from gusts blowing off Lake Michigan and through downtown skyscrapers, its origins are political rather than meteorological.

Chicago carries the nickname “The Windy City,” and most people assume it’s because of the gusts whipping off Lake Michigan and funneling through the skyscrapers. However, the truth has less to do with the weather and more to do with politics.

The name was coined in 1893 by a reporter for the New York Sun during a rivalry between Chicago and New York over hosting the World’s Fair. The writer used it to describe the city’s outspoken politicians, who were known for energetically promoting their hometown.

Still, there may be some truth to the moniker.

Chicago may be the windiest big city

According to a list of NOAA average wind speed data for the top 240 weather stations in the continental United States, Chicago is the windiest big city — with a population of over 1 million people — at 4.4 mph. Dallas, Texas, is a close runner-up with 4.2 mph. Next is Philadelphia, with 4.1 mph, followed by San Antonio and Houston, Texas, rounding out the top 5.

Average annual wind speed is calculated from average daily wind measurements, based on hourly data, including periods of calm wind, which is recorded as a zero.

The Plains and Rockies are the windiest areas

When population is not a factor, cities in the Plains and Rockies top the windy city list, with Dodge City, Kansas, topping the list at 5.8 mph, tied with Amarillo, Texas, and followed by Goodland, Kansas; Rochester, Minnesota; and Clayton, New Mexico; all at 5.4 mph.

The least windy cities are Los Angeles, California; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Medford, Oregon; Bristol, Tennessee; and Charleston, West Virginia. Los Angeles's average wind speed is a paltry 0.8 mph, and none of the top five least windy cities is over 2 mph.

To get a more detailed view of the nation, a map from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows an estimate of average wind speeds at 30 feet (10 meters) above the station's elevation, which is also the standard used in the NOAA list.

Unlike the NOAA cities, which are calculated over records that extend back decades, this map only uses data from 2013 to 2017.

The NREL map confirms that, in general, mountain tops are windier across the nation, but the Plains and Rockies are windier than the Midwest, and the inland Southeast U.S. is the least windy. Hurricanes are infrequent enough that they don't raise the average wind speed inland beyond the coast.

Wind data may not be representative of your experience

Because most of the NOAA weather stations are at airports, not amongst skyscrapers in downtown areas, they may not match city dwellers' experiences. The same goes for the map above, which doesn't capture those city microclimates.

Residents of downtown areas know that winds can rush around skyscrapers, making it windier in the city than in the suburbs. Proximity to the coast also increases wind speed, although plenty of the airports in NOAA's list are close to the water.

In Chicago, the Meigs Field station, which was both downtown and on the water but stopped transmitting in 2011, had the highest average wind speed value of any station in the metro area, 25% higher than both the O'Hare and Midway airports, according to data from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

Two particularly windy weather stations in the NOAA station list, Mount Washington, New Hampshire, and Blue Hill, Massachusetts, were not considered for this study because only scientific observers reside there. Almost all other cities in the NOAA lists are airports near significant population centers.

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