Is it Just Me or is Lansing, Michigan The REAL “Windy City”?
We've had our fair share of blustery days with our Michigan weather lately, most recently a series of wind advisories have caused something of a mess for many. However, can we talk about how it always seems to be even windier here in Lansing?
"It Wouldn't Be So Bad if It Wasn't For The Wind" - Michiganders
It's one of the most common things we say here in Michigan, and I think we really need to clear it up.
We don't say it just for the sake of saying it, we genuinely mean it.
Here in Michigan, we've braved plenty of cold winters. We're tough and we know what to expect (most of us). Sometimes, though, the wind is what makes a "comfortably" cold day into a bone-chilling one.
The wind here in Michigan cuts deep and we often say or hear "the air hurts my face."
Some Areas in Michigan Are More Windy Than Others
Being a state that is surrounded by lakes big enough to basically be small oceans, means our weather can be a bit unpredictable, right?
That also, of course, means that cities and towns that are along Michigan's coastline have more of the winds and that "lake effect snow" we hear so much about. For example, Grand Rapids is a city that is also seems to be constantly blasted by blustery days. However, their proximity to the lake and the Grand River absolutely makes sense.
However, why would seemingly landlocked Lansing be so windy?
Is Lansing Windier Than Other Cities in Michigan?
As the Capital City, it would make sense for Lansing to be considered the "top dog" in quite a few categories...but would windiness be one?
I've got to be honest, I had not really thought about how windy it really was here in Lansing until a coworker who recently moved here from the East side of the state mentioned something about it.
She said that was one of the biggest things she's noticed since she moved what how consistently breezy it was here in the Capital City. As soon as she said that, I got thinking about just how many times I've driven from here to Jackson on what seems like a perfectly nice, clear day only to feel the wind trying to whip me off the road.
Of course, recent weather patterns have had all of us feeling like we are in that episode of Spongebob where he and Squidward are trekking through intense winds to deliver the first Krusty Krab Pizza:
However, now I have to wonder...what makes Lansing so windy?
Is it because it's pretty flat compared to the rest of the state? Is it because we're pretty central so it's where all the winds from every direction come together to make this city into a wind tunnel?
Please, can a meteorologist, topographer, geologist, hell - even a gynecologist or something be able to explain this!?
No matter who can even begin to explain this, we do want to give a special shoutout to anyone who has had to work even harder lately to restore some order after the wild winds this week really BLEW a wrench into the mix.