This Minnesota City is Now One of Windiest in the U.S.
If you thought it's been windy in Minnesota this spring, you're right. And, one Minnesota has been named of of the Windiest Cities in the U.S.
Living here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we're used to dealing with the wind, right? Those gusty winds usually whip up several wind chill advisories every winter all across our fine state. And several cities in southern Minnesota have routinely been listed as some of the windiest cities not only here in the North Star State but across the United States, as well.
And some of those cities sure have been living up to that ranking so far this week. According to the National Weather Service office in La Crosse, a gust of 51 miles per hour was recorded in Leroy, Minnesota on April 19th. The helipad at Mayo Clinic/St. Marys Hospital in Rochester noted a gust of 47 miles that same day, while other gusts in the upper 40s were also recorded in Lyle, Preston and La Crescent as well.
Those wind gusts validate this listing of the Top 10 Windiest Cities in the United States, which includes one city in the Bold North. A few years ago, this USA Today story noted that Rochester was ranked 9th on the list. But, in a more recent list, Minnesota's Med City has moved up to #3 on the NOAA list of America's Windiest Cities, according to GroundWorks.com.
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According to their rankings, which were compiled by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, Rochester's average wind speed of 12.1 mph is pretty darn windy, with only five other cities ranked as having windier conditions. Those would be Goodland, Kansas; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Amarillo, Texas; Dodge City, Kansas; and Mt. Washington, New Hampshire.
And while parts of Minnesota definitely had some windy gusts earlier this spring, ours weren't all that impressive compared to the massive wind gusts recorded at the Mount Washington Observatory-- some of which have topped 100 miles an hour! Check out this video to see what it's like to try to stand up in THAT kind of wind!
And while annoying, we also know that the wind can cause those winter temperatures to feel even colder-- hence, those wind chill or 'feel's like' temperatures we always see in the winter. But some cities are just plain cold-- even before the wind is factored in. Keep scrolling to check out which are the windiest in the country.
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Gallery Credit: Dunken