Has it been windier than normal around the Windy City this year?
The simple answer is yes, it has been windier than normal so far in 2025. A record number of wind alerts were issued by the National Weather Service in March.
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First, we'll need to look at the breakdown of sustained winds across the U.S. by month so far this year.
JANUARY 2025
According to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the Chicago area had an average sustained wind speed of about 13-16 mph through the month of January. That’s slightly above the 30-year climate average by 1 to 2 mph. The numbers are low, but keep in mind it’s an average for the entire month.
FEBRUARY 2025
February also had slightly-above average winds with a mean wind speed of 13-14 mph around Chicago. Both February and January had above average east-west winds, but below average north-south winds.
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MARCH 2025
Weather
Winds started ramping up in March, which is typical as the jet stream becomes more “wobbly” in the seasonal transition.
This was not a typical windy March, however, as 20 days had gusts over 30 mph. Ten of those days had gusts over 40 mph.
It was windier than average for nearly the entire lower 48 states. The NWS said they issued more wind advisories in March 2025 than any other month since their system was implemented in 2007.
So why has it been so windy?
There isn’t a single direct reason for a windy year so far, but there are a few correlations that are likely the cause.
We’ve had more frequent low pressure systems, and they’ve been stronger than usual. Keep in mind this hasn’t meant storms every time a low moves across the Midwest. Many times the low has tracked north or south of the Chicago area, but the tightening pressure gradients around the low creates our gusty winds.
Something else to consider is the atmospheric pattern, which has oscillations that alternate between “positive” and “negative" phases roughly every two to three weeks. We had more changes in phases than usual.
Think of it as a door opening and closing, allowing cold air to spill south or stay bottled up to the north. The more variation in phases, the more drastic changes we see in temperatures and winds.
Other factors include a lack of snow pack (more surface heating which increases winds), a weakening La Niña (effects position of the jet stream and low-pressure tracks), and potentially climate change.
