BOSTON — Just like temperatures and daylight, Boston has a season for windy weather too, and it’s about to begin.
They call Chicago the “windy city,” but believe it or not, Boston is actually the windiest of all major US cities! Proximity to the ocean plays a significant role in this. The water creates less friction, which means wind can accelerate faster. It also provides a favorable corridor for storms to develop and bring even more breeziness at certain times of the year.
For starters, Boston experiences ZERO wind only 1.9% of the time. That’s less than 8 days cumulatively throughout the year (and most of this is time is at night!).
The least windy days of the year all occur between the mid summer and early fall. It’s this time of year when the weather pattern is characterized by less storminess and little turnover in the at-large air masses
The true windy season however, that begins in December and continues through April. During these five months, the average wind speed in Boston is at least 12.4 mph and we’re not including gusts! It’s this time of year when those large air masses are shifting, sometimes violently, as we transition from the warm to cold months... and then back again. Even when we are locked into the cold months, stormy weather is more likely. We experience events such as the polar vortex, a classic nor’easter, or sometimes both, and each stirs up our atmosphere.
When the atmosphere is out of balance, wind is used to find a neutral state (or at least it’s an attempt...) and we end up with the subsequent breeziness.
As we enter into this “windy season” remember to check the wind chill before you decide what to wear!