Environment

The windiest city isn’t Chicago—it’s in Texas

Four Texas cities made the top ten list of windiest cities in the US.

Oil rigs and wind turbines used in production of electricity side by side in the same Texas field located near Amarillo, TX on a hot summer afternoon, the heat distortion clearly visible. (Art Wager/ Getty)

Chicago is known as the “Windy City,” but when real estate company Redfin compiled a list of the windiest cities in the US, Chi-town wasn’t even in the top ten. 

Dallas is one of the windiest major cities, more so than Chicago, and  there are smaller Texas cities that kick up dust even more than Dallas. Hold on to your hat—can you believe such a warm state produces this much breeze?

 

10. Abilene

This west Texas town has an average wind speed of 10.9 mph due to its flat terrain and big summer storms.

 

8. Wichita Falls

 

The city of about 103,000 people is incredibly tornado-prone and averages wind speeds of 11.2 mph.

 

4. Corpus Christi


Also one of the hottest cities in Texas, Corpus Christi averages 11.7 mph winds thanks to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. It’s also windy all year. 

 

1. Amarillo


The panhandle city of Amarillo is the windiest city in the US, with whipping winds that average 12.9 mph. How? The city has unstable air pressure and it’s flat, dry, with little forested terrain. With no trees, hills, and high buildings to stop a gust of wind, Amarillo winds can really pick up speed. The region is one of the coldest parts of Texas.