Why is Wyoming so windy?

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by WyoMama

Dangerous as that was when PP&G did that, it was SO FUNNY - that was in the really early 80's, wasn't it? I lived in Wheatland at the time. It was AMAZING nobody was seriously hurt or killed when those blades went flying.

About 8-9 miles south of Wheatland is the "Bordeaux Cut" - the famous windsocks on I-25. The cut is a natural cut the wind has made thru the mtns & is like a big wind tunnel. Is DOCUMENTED in energy books & geo lit as the windiest place in North America (yes including the north pole & Alaska, etc. etc.) for PERPETUAL wind. That doesn't mean it doesn't get windier at other places but for sustained perpetual winds (which is the area where it is my understanding they put those wind turbines that blew to pieces back into the Medicine Bow valley). It is the mountains breaking into the jet streams & breaking them up & pulling them down to the ground. And how do you think the foothills - razorbacks & other nicknames - got their names??? The wind blazing across the great plains & slamming against the the lowest of the mountains. Esp in Colo you can REALLY see the razorbacks. And in northwest Wyo by Clark. But Wyo has more broken up land to the east of us like the Black Hills so we don't have as many of them as Colo does. There IS a reason. The windiest parts are just east of the front range & out in the open. Not so much in the mountians because they are protected. (loved the story about the tumbleweed...LOL - thought I'd give an actual serious answer to this question..)

WyoMa, your answer is great. Info I didn't even know. 'Course I could tell, this thread was for all y'all smarter folks. Learned a lot - Thanks.
(doesn't mean the sTumbleweed story isn't true, though)

[icequeen2008]

Well thanks everyone for all your comments. I enjoyed reading each and everyone.

[Ticky909]

because the fluxuation of warm low pressure air and cold high pressure air. basically, canada, mexico, and mountains create the wind, that sliver of land is the windiest in the nation, wyomin, co, mt, nd, etc. Chicago is called the windy city because they complain more. just like california's hot and new yorks snowy, just more there to pipe up.

[tekape]

Originally Posted by icequeen2008

Now I am confused. I always thought that Chicago was the windy city? Now I find out that Wyoming is the windy one. What gives?

It's windy here?? No one told me!

[WyoMama]

LOL!!!! Is like in Cody - they complain about the windhere & I have to laugh cause they've never spent a winter in the southeastern part of the state!!! THAT is windy!!

[Lynn Allen]

The reason Wyoming is so windy is because its "mountains" are too small to block the wind. You won't find a single 14'er in this relatively flat state!

[city_data91]

The eastern part of the state is flat so the wind picks up and there's nothing to stop it. The wind keeps picking up speed as it travels.

[WyoNewk]

All good answers, but the simple answer is elevation. The higher the elevation the more likely the winds will be high. Aircraft pilots quickly learn that the highest winds are at the highest altitudes, regardless of what the terrain elevation is below. Lift off from a typical 1200' elevation airport in Iowa, climb to 5000', and you'll find wind speeds similar to those on the ground at Wyoming's 5000' elevations. Same thing if you climb to 12,000'.

This depends greatly on the altitude and location of the jet stream and on the gradient between high and low pressure areas, but those things move around constantly and have no more effect on Wyoming than any other state... except that Wyoming's high elevation is closer to the higher winds aloft.

Southern Wyoming has higher winds across its prairies because the prairies are higher than those in northern Wyoming. Cheyenne's elevation is over 6,000', Rawlins is nearly at 7,000 feet, Laramie is over 7,000'. Compare that to the northern cities of Gillette (4,500'), Buffalo (4,600'), Sheridan (3,700'), Worland (4,000'), or Cody (5,000'). Mountains (terrain in general) certainly affect the winds in and around cities, but elevation is the foremost consideration when guessing whether surface winds will generally be higher or lower.

At least that's been my experience....

[ImAHobbit]

It certainly blows in Wyoming,

My sister-in-law and her hubby took a s/w trailer up to his property in Clark and before they could get it set, they had a big wind one night which blew her car sideways about 10 feet into his pickup. It also blew the spare tire out of his pickup (with the tailgate up)!

They found some dresser drawers and a couple chunks of tin in the gulley east of the trailer frame, that is all that was left!

I've been at the end of the pavement at the mouth of Clarks Fork Canyon and watched the wind peel up the asphalt. It's breathtaking! (literally)

[PsykoKustomz]

There is also a far simpler explanation. Utah blows and Nebraska sucks I'm just playing please don't anyone from those states get offended by it.