Sidney Wind (Lincoln, Scottsbluff, Western: mobile home, living in, statistics)

[WyattE]

How is Sidney when it comes to wind? Is it less, more, or equal to Cheyenne Wyoming?

[itsMeFred]

I'd call it "equal to."

[Wyomama2]

Really? Have you ever lived in Cheyenne? The wind is atrocious!!

[itsMeFred]

What-- You think the wind magically shuts off at the state line?

[MICHAEL J]

You are right Wyomama2. I've lived all over the state of Wyoming as well as Western Nebraska. The wind is significantly worse in Cheyenne than Western Nebraska. Has to do with the elevation (6062' in Cheyenne) and the surrounding mountains. Cheyenne is actually listed as one of the windiest cities in America.

[itsMeFred]

Wind- Average Wind Speed- (MPH)
I know Wyoming likes to think they have some kind of monopoly on the wind, but it's not really true. It's windier, yes, but not by much. Certainly not "significantly worse."
Ie, so far as the OP's question, it's "equal to."

DATA THROUGH 2002 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

SCOTTSBLUFF, NE 10.6 11.1 12.0 12.5 11.8 10.5 9.3 8.9 9.4 9.7 10.2 10.4
CHEYENNE, WY 15.2 14.6 14.4 14.1 12.6 11.4 10.4 10.4 11.2 12.3 13.5 14.7

(Sidney wasn't an option, but it'll be very similar to the Bluffs)

[Wyomama2]

Originally Posted by MICHAEL J

You are right Wyomama2. I've lived all over the state of Wyoming as well as Western Nebraska. The wind is significantly worse in Cheyenne than Western Nebraska. Has to do with the elevation (6062' in Cheyenne) and the surrounding mountains. Cheyenne is actually listed as one of the windiest cities in America.

I figured, Cheyenne has crazy wind!

[MICHAEL J]

Originally Posted by Wyomama2

I figured, Cheyenne has crazy wind!

I moved from western Nebraska to Casper, WY and one of my first observations was not only how strong the wind blew but also how consistently the wind blew. I spent the next five years living in many towns and cities across Wyoming and traveling the entire state with my work. Part of that time was driving truck, and many times the highways and interstates were closed to high profile traffic because of high wind warnings. The old saying was that the snow never melts in Wyoming it simply blows back and forth until it simply wears out. I also noticed that the wind never went down with the sun as it generally does in most other areas.

Now I realize that this evidence it anecdotal, so let’s analyze the statistics provide by others. If you average the wind speeds provided, Cheyenne encounters wind speeds 23% higher than those in Scottsbluff (if I’ve done my math correctly). This 23% difference is not “equal to” but “greater than”; at least in the math classes I took. Furthermore, these averages don’t really tell the entire story. Many areas in Wyoming are subject to extremely high winds due to the surrounding topography, which acts much like a wind tunnel. Casper and Cheyenne both come to mind. I’ve personally experienced several days (and nights) of relentless winds, many times in excess of 90 MPH. On several occasions dozens of mobile homes were destroyed due to the winds. One particular night my mobile home was blown off its blocks, even though the wind was blowing directly at the back of the home.

If we use the above reference to the state line literally, as to not stopping the wind… we would also have to assume that the wind speed would then be the same in Lincoln as it is in Cheyenne, or for that matter, St. Louis, or even Cincinnati. Obviously, the state line does not stop the wind. But what does happen is that as the wind reaches the flat eastern plains it has a tendency to spread out and diminish in velocity. There’s no disputing that fact. So in reality, Wyoming truly does have a monopoly on the wind, at least in comparison to western Nebraska.

[itsMeFred]

I guess I trust the data from the weather service more than anecdotes, but maybe that's just me...

[MICHAEL J]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

I guess I trust the data from the weather service more than anecdotes, but maybe that's just me...

Read my entire post Fred, then analyze the data you reported... 23% difference. That's not anecdotal.

FYI:

NOAA lists Cheyenne as the 5th windiest city in the US and Casper is listed at number 6. As I clearly explained in my post, this is due to factors such as elevation and topography. Not a single location in Nebraska makes the top ten list. As I explained in my post, as the wind moves to the east over the plains, it spreads out and decreases in velocity. Pretty simple physics really.

A government website indicates approximately 1/3 of Wyoming in the top tier of wind density necessary for wind power. No areas of Nebraska are even in the top three tiers.

Live in Cheyenne and/or Casper for a few years as I did. I can assure you that you'll change your mind... now that's anecdotal.