Windiest Cities in the United States

The windiest city in the United States is not the one nicknamed the "Windy City". Among large cities, Chicago ranks twelfth for fastest average wind speed.

America's windiest major city is Boston, where overall the wind blows two miles per hour faster than in Chicago.

Boston and Chicago are two of thirteen large US cities with year-round winds averaging above 10 mph.

The 56 major cities included in the weather rankings here represent the metropolitan areas in the United States with the most people, all those with over one million residents in 2020.

Strongest Wind Gusts

Boston's wind is twice as fast as that of the least windy city, Phoenix. Still, Phoenix is not without its powerful winds. Average wind speeds say nothing about what winds are capable of. The Arizona city's airport has been blasted by 100 mph gusts more than once.

Hurricanes, thunderstorms and windstorms blowing off the ocean have produced some amazing gusts at many cities. Sometimes the wind knocks out the weather station's power supply or the measuring equipment, so we'll never know the true strength of some fierce gusts, just the damage.

Windiest City Each Month

On a monthly basis, the windiest city in America, based on average speed, shifts among four locations. Boston excels during the fall and winter, but is briefly outdone by Buffalo in January. Oklahoma City gets the strongest spring winds, while San Francisco is the best place to fly a kite throughout the summer months.