There are two types of people in this world: those who love clear, calm weather and those who are delighted with the elements and
their impulses.
A storm at sea and strong
waves
, a loud rustling of leaves and a howl of wind in the forest are music for some people.
However, even the most notorious lovers of bad weather are unlikely to like the windiest places on our planet: it is so windy in some places that even tea with a blanket and watching the elements from the window is unlikely to brighten up the situation.
Today Let me tell you where the strongest winds blow in the USA.
Where in The USA is the Windiest city?
People say that Chicago is the windiest city in the USA.
Chicago is officially called the Windy City.
The weather in Chicago is influenced by the temperate continental climate, and the seasons fit well with the seasons.
In winter, snow often falls in Chicago and it becomes quite cold and chilly due to the wind that brings humid air from Lake Michigan .
But let me tell you the truth of real windy cities in America Now….
Where Is It Most Windy in the US?
Which States Have the Strongest Winds?
Texas, Kansas , Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois have the strongest winds.
These States which are located in the central Part of the USA are called “Tornado Alley”.
90% of tornadoes always form here.
Where Is It Most Windy in the US?
Texas, Oklahoma and North & South Dakota are the most windy areas in the USA.
State of Oklahoma
This is the place with the most severe winds on our planet.
Surprisingly, a lot of people live here.
The fact is that it is located on the territory called Tornado Alley : this is the area between the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains.
Here, warm and cold air masses constantly meet, which is why the air temperature changes dramatically and
strong winds form.
Tornadoes here are generally a regular occurrence, there are more than fifty of them a year.
And the rampage of the elements is so popular here that people even have a hobby: many hunt for tornadoes and photograph them.
In April 2011, a record was set: 207 tornadoes were recorded here in a month.
North Dakota
and
South Dakota
The extreme cold experienced in cities in North Dakota is caused by the strong winds that characterize the state’s climate.
These winds are very strong due to the fact that North Dakota is mostly flat and arid, with few trees, allowing the wind to pick up speed.
The plains also allow cold Arctic air to move south into North Dakota, resulting in very low temperatures.
South Dakota has a similar landscape and climate to North Dakota.
The absence of mountains and trees means that cold winds blowing from Canada can easily penetrate South Dakota, as nothing blocks their path.
However, at the same time, warm and humid air from Texas or the Gulf of Mexico is entering South Dakota, which can lead to higher temperatures. For this reason, the weather in South Dakota can be unstable.
Texas
Severe thunderstorms with gale-force winds and heavy rain are very common in Texas .
Texas ranks the first among other states in the occurrence of strong wind, with an average of about 139 tornadoes per year in Texas.
5 Destructive Tornadoes in America
Here is a list of most destructive Tornadoes in America:
The five most destructive tornadoes to ever hit American cities claimed more than 1,800 lives in total.
Entire cities were destroyed, the budget suffered damage in the millions of dollars.
1.
A Three State Tornado In 1925
As the name of this tornado says, this tornado hit three states at once on March 18, 1925.
The states of Illinois, Indiana and Missouri were affected.
This tornado was rated F5 on the
Fujita scale.
As a result, 695 people died, more than 2,000 were injured, and 50,000 people were left homeless .
Most of the dead are residents of southern Illinois. Some cities were completely destroyed.
The action of the tornado lasted 3. 5 hours, and the average speed of the funnel was 20 mph.
In an era without television, the Internet, and any kind of disaster warning system, this speed has become fatal for hundreds of people. According to some reports, the diameter of the funnel reached 1 mile (1. 6 km).
Damage from the rampant disaster amounted to $16. 5 million, which in today’s prices is more than $200 million.
In total, there were 9 tornadoes that day, operating in 7 states.
In total, 747 people died from tornadoes that roamed the United States on March 18.
2.
Tornadoes in Tupelo (Mississippi) and Gainesville (Georgia) in 1936
The powerful Tupelo-Gainesville tornado claimed the lives of almost 450 people, and the exact number of the dead is still unknown.
The Tupelo tornado was rated F4 and the Gainesville tornado was F5.
The city of Tupelo in Mississippi was the first to be hit by the elements, which was at the epicenter of the tornado on April 5, 1936.
Then at least 203 people died, 1600 people were injured.
Interestingly, among the survivors of the disaster was
Elvis Presley
, who at that time was one year old.
The next day, the tornado, having passed Alabama , moved to the city of Gainesville, Georgia .
The tornado broke into the city, where the building of the Cooper Pants factory became its victim, – 70 factory workers died, another 40 were never found and are still considered missing.
In total, at least 216 people died in Gainesville, and damage to the state amounted to $13 million, which is $200 million in today’s prices.
In the first days of April 1936, six US states were hit by tornadoes of varying strength:
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
3.
Tornado in Natchez, Mississippi in 1840
As a result of this devastating tornado, which hit the
small town of Natchez
in the state of Mississippi on May 7, 1840, according to official figures, 317 people died and 109 were injured.
This is the only tornado that has resulted in more deaths than injuries.
The true number of victims remained unknown, since no one counted the dead slaves at that time.
The Fujita Scale did not yet exist at that time, but scientists are sure that it was an F5 tornado.
The tornado passed along the Mississippi River to the northeast, the main victims were among sailors and boat passengers – the tornado sank more than 60 ships (according to some reports, their number exceeds 200), 269 people died on the river.
Several more boats were washed ashore, ship parts were found at a distance of 31 miles from the site of the tragedy.
The damage amounted to $1. 26 million, which today would exceed $29 million – a colossal amount for the middle
of the 19th century.
4.
Tornado in St.
Louis (Missouri) in 1896
The victims of this tornado were 255 people, more than 1,000 were injured.
Nearly 9,000 buildings were damaged or completely destroyed.
The number of people who actually died on 27 May 1986 remains unknown. Many of the bodies were washed into the river and never found.
This tornado was rated F4.
The main blow fell on the capital of Missouri,
the city of St.
Louis,
and on neighboring East St.
Louis (Illinois).
Half of the Eads Bridge connecting them were destroyed, but in general the bridge survived. In 1871, it was already exposed to a tornado, and then its structure was specially strengthened.
The width of the tornado funnel reached 1 mile, and the wind speed reached 81 mph.
This tornado went down in US history as the most “expensive” – the damage amounted to more than $10 million in 1986 prices, that is, almost $3 billion in today’s prices.
5.
A series of tornadoes in the southwestern United States in 1947
On April 9, 1947, several tornadoes hit the southwestern US states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
It covered more than 155 miles, and along the way he claimed the lives of 181 people, injuring almost a thousand.
Modern researchers believe that there could have been several tornadoes, but the strongest was category F5.
First, the tornado hit the small town of Glazier in Texas.
Local newspapers reported about two people who were nearby during the tornado strike – the elements threw them 3 miles apart.
Glazier was almost completely destroyed, as was most of Higgins.
Which State is Used for Wind Energy?
Illinois state was recognized as the most progressive in terms of the development of wind energy.
Energy experts say Illinois has the highest number of communities in the nation that meet 100% of their energy needs with wind turbines.
Calculations have shown that the operation of wind farms operating in Illinois reduces the amount of emissions into the atmosphere equivalent to the emissions of a million cars.