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Top Windiest and Stormiest Cities and Towns in Maryland

Here are the top 20 windiest cities and towns in Maryland. This includes average wind speed and thunderstorm winds. You'll also see the potential wind impact on your home.

Maryland runs from the Atlantic Coast to the Chesapeake Bay and north to the state of Pennsylvania. That makes for a wide variety of climate and weather events. 

In this article, we’ll look specifically at average wind speed followed by thunderstorm wind speeds and their impacts on your home.

Windiest Cities and Towns in Maryland: Average Wind Speed

We’ve reviewed the average wind speed information at City-Data to find the top 20 cities in Maryland for the highest average wind speed. We’ve chosen only those cities with populations of 6,000 or more.

#CityMPH
1Ocean City  9.4
2Oxon Hill – Glassmanor  9.4
3Suitland – Silver Hill  9.4
4Walker Mill9.4
5Hillcrest Heights9.3
6Mount Rainier 9.3
7Temple Hills9.3
8Bladensburg9.3
9Coral Hills 9.3
10Cheverly9.3
11Greater Landover   9.3
12Ocean Pines  9.3
13Camp Springs9.3
14District Heights  9.3
15Hyattsville9.3
16Forestville9.3
17East Riverdale9.3
18Fort Washington9.3
19Riverdale Park 9.3
20Friendly9.3

Windiest Cities and Towns in Maryland: Thunderstorm Winds

Average wind speed can tell us a great deal about local conditions, but thunderstorm winds can really show what can happen with high winds in Maryland. We’ve reviewed NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information’s Storm Events Database. In the range of Nov. 1, 2019, to Nov. 30, 2020, they identified 24 places affected. Here are the top 20 ranked by recorded wind speed. 

#CityMPH
1. Olney, Montgomery County 75
2. Middlebrook, Montgomery County 70
3. Pomfret, Charles County 70
4. Riva, Anne Arundel County 70
5. Galena, Kent County 69
6. Sams Creek, Frederick County 65
7. Denton, Caroline County 65
8. American Corners, Caroline County 65
9. Baltimore Martin Street, Baltimore County 65
10. Darnestown, Montgomery County 65
11. Crofton, Anne Arundel County 65
12. Marley, Anne Arundel County 65
13. Bryantown, Queen Anne’s County 63
14. Unionville, Frederick County 61
15. Hillville, St. Mary’s County 61
16. Appeal, Calvert County 61
17. Cavetown, Washington County 61
18. Gaithersburg, Montgomery County 61
19. Mullinix, Carroll County 60
20. Derwood, Montgomery County 60

The 75-mph winds in Olney on April 13, 2020, caused $500,000 in property damage when hundreds of trees were uprooted and fell onto houses and cars. The 70-mph winds in Middlebrook on Feb. 7, 2020, toppled trees, snapped light poles, and blew a shed apart on the campus of Montgomery College.

Winds in Our Hometown

Baltimore’s average winds are 8.8 mph. The big wind event was a thunderstorm on July 6, 2020, that damaged part of the roof on the helicopter hangar at Martin State Regional Airport.

Impact on Your Home from Winds and Storms 

The National Weather Service has built a wind estimation scale designed to provide observers with a way to judge wind speed. Here are the details.

wind speed gauges possible damage

As you can tell, strong winds can do a great deal of damage to trees, utility lines, signs, and homes. Plus, the flying debris can cause still further damage.

We’re hopeful that high winds won’t damage your home’s foundation. Even so, rainwater driven by wind can find its way into your basement or crawl space if there are any cracks or if the water accumulates around your home.

We recommend that you consult the professionals at JES Foundation Repair for a free inspection and repair estimate to identify any issues with your basement or crawl space that need attention in preparation for heavy winds, rains, and flooding.

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