Windiest Cities In America Unveiled. Is Amarillo Still On Top?

I don't need to sit here and tell you that Amarillo, TX. is windy. There's no point because if you live here, you already knew that.

We can have winds around 15 mph and view it as a normal, beautiful day in the city. There are a lot of places around the United States that would consider that a crazy windy day.

Last year, Amarillo was named the windiest city in America, and it wasn't even close. We were a full mile per hour ahead of second place, which was Rochester, MN.

Well the new rankings have been released, and once again, Amarillo tops the list as the windiest city in America, with Rochester, MN. once again behind us...but they're gaining on us. Take a look at the top 10 windiest cities:

1. Amarillo, Texas: 12.9 mph
2. Rochester, Minnesota: 12.1 mph
3. Lubbock, Texas: 12 mph
4. Casper, Wyoming: 12 mph
5. Corpus Christi, Texas: 11.7 mph
6. Wichita, Kansas: 11.5 mph
7. Boston, Massachusetts: 11.5 mph
8. Great Falls, Montana: 11.4 mph
9. New York City, NY: 11.3 mph
10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 11.3 mph

What you see listed here are the average wind speeds for those cities. You may notice that there are THREE Texas cities in the top 5, which I'd imagine makes us the windiest state.

So what causes Amarillo and this area so prone to wind? It's a combination of things. The first thing is our location. The plains are subject to strong winds because there is a major instability in air pressure, not to mention all the flat, dry land we have.

Because it's so wide open in Amarillo, the wind has time to pick up speed and blow through the city. As with anything, if something isn't there to block it, it can continue to gain steam. Think about hitting the gas on your car, putting the pedal to the floor and seeing how fast you can go. If a building or another car is in front of you, you have to hit the brakes right?

The wind works the same way. It starts as a light breeze, and as it chases itself, it picks up speed if nothing is there to break it. That's why when I leave my house for a baseball tournament, I feel like it's a beautiful day with very little wind. Then I get to the fields and immediately regret not dressing warmer.

Go ahead and celebrate Amarillo, we're number one!