March was one of the windiest months on record overall for the United States. While it wasn’t in Wyoming, triple-digit wind gusts aren’t uncommon, meaning the Cowboy State’s normal windy weather still blows away many other states’ records.
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), March was one of the windiest months on record across the United States. Average sustained wind speeds were above historical averages, and nearly every city in the eastern half of the U.S. set new wind gust records.
An analysis by The Washington Post ranks all 50 states by their new wind gust records. Michigan, which had its windiest March on record for the last 50 years, took the top spot, with winds 4.3 mph stronger than average.
Michigan was followed by Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, New York, Tennessee, Missouri, Vermont, Arkansas and Ohio, which all had their second-windiest months on record.
This ranking makes some meteorologists curious about the conclusions. Was it really that windy in March, or are these analyses full of hot air?
“It was certainly a windy month, although I would need to know how The Washington Post derived their numbers,” said Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day. “Even though the data’s out there, wind is something that's a little bit more nebulous than temperature.”
When It Blows
There’s no denying that March was windy. There were several strong storms last month, setting new wind records as they moved across the nation.
“March was a month where multiple storms moved west to east across the country and were biased to track more across the northern and central U.S.,” Day said. "One rule of thumb is if you're south of where the low-pressure systems track, you'll have a lot of wind."
There were several low-pressure storms in March, which explains the whirlwind of wind in the United States. However, that’s not unusual for March.
“It's very rare to have a March that isn’t windy,” Day said. “We normally have windy periods in March and April, but it's just the normal time of year when the seasons change. A March that isn’t windy is usually very warm and dry. We have a lot of back and forth in March, so we tend to have more wind.”
Where’s Wyoming?
In The Washington Post’s ranking for winds in March, Wyoming ranked 43rd with its 23rd windiest March on record. That seems odd for Wyoming, which is consistently one of the windiest places in the nation.
“If people look at that list and think there's no way Wyoming was in the bottom five, there's good reason to be skeptical,” Day said. “It’s not because there's anything nefarious from The Washington Post, just how they determined their data.”
That’s because Wyoming’s March, while windy, wasn’t really any windier than typical, while the other states were setting records.
Day said that most databases log Wyoming’s wind gusts as recorded from airports in Casper, Cheyenne and Sheridan. Those data points have the longest historical records, making them the most reliable place to start for big-picture takeaways.
But only examining the wind gusts recorded at Casper-Natrona County International Airport would disregard the incredible wind gusts recorded on Mount Coffin in Lincoln County. Wind gusts between 92 and 116 mph were recorded near the summit of Mount Coffin in March, and a 120 mph gust was recorded in late February.
“Winter and spring are the seasons when we see winds of this magnitude,” Day said. “There are several periods between November and April when wind records could be broken.”
The intensity of the winds on Mount Coffin led Day to question why Wyoming wasn’t higher on lists of the windiest states last month. It’s a question of what data was collected and analyzed to reach those conclusions.
“How many data points did they get out of Wyoming? Did they include the wind gusts in the mountains? Would it stand up to the rigors of a scientific paper? Probably not,” he said.
Of course, Day can readily believe that this March wasn’t overly windy for Wyoming. The 23rd windiest March on record seems credible enough to believe.
“I think last March was probably windier than this March,” he said. “Of course, it’s going to be windy in Wyoming in March. It’s always windy here, which is another reason it might be lower on the list.”
Candy Crunching
The analyses of March 2025 being “the windiest on record” come with several caveats. Day advised Wyomingites to take in these meteorological stories with caution.
“When any media outlet puts out graphs and charts and makes claims, it all depends on how the data is gathered and provided,” he said. “Without knowing the methodology behind it, it’s hard to put a lot of credence in it.”
That’s why Day said these analyses, published without explaining the methodology used to reach the conclusions, are what he considers “candy.”
“This is true of all weather data,” he said. “I can’t comment much on any weather article if I don't know their methodology.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
