Weather mailbag: Is Boston windier this year, and how are NOAA layoffs impacting forecasting?
This is interesting. The topic of wind has been brought up to me a bunch of times this year, especially over the spring months. I looked back at weather observations so far this year at Logan International Airport, in particular, and the findings were quite alarming.
In terms of average wind speed, 2025 has been the windiest since 2007, with an average speed of 12.55 miles per hour through May 15. We're nowhere near setting a new record, but it's windier than the 30-year average.
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The most interesting thing that jumped out to me was the average wind gust at Logan — a record-setting 33.59 miles per hour, 2 miles per hour stronger than the previous record for the same 5.5-month stretch set back in 2010.
Wind gusts at Logan Airport so far in 2025 have been the strongest on record.
IEM
The reasons behind this are fairly simple. For one, we had a stronger North Atlantic high pressure so far this year, while a weak La Niña influenced a slightly more interior storm track over New England. This resulted in many storms passing through or near New England to strengthen as they passed. What does this mean? A stronger-than-average high next to stronger lows passing nearby leads to stronger pressure gradients and more gusty conditions. Add in the fact that storm frequency was high this spring, then New England has seen more occurrences of gusty winds.
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This is not directly related to the Carolinas seeing more hurricanes last year, but a strong North Atlantic high does tend to push the surface of the Gulf Stream closer to the shore, so we can make that correlation. The largest component leading to the Gulf Stream shifting closer to the coast is due to increasing sea surface temperatures, allowing for the stream to warm, expand, and slow down.
Q: What explains why the summer seems to bring weaker and less frequent windy days than the winter?
– Valentin C., Boston
New England becomes less windy during the summer than winter because the increasing sun angle decreases the difference in temperature and air pressure between weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere during summer months.
The jet stream, which divides pockets of cool and warm air, becomes less pronounced and pressure gradients between systems are weaker, reducing general wind speeds. Sea surface temperatures across the Gulf of Maine are, of course, warmer during the summer months, so even coastal storms will have a less pronounced temperature and pressure gradient, reducing overall wind speeds.
The average wind speed during the summer months in Boston is 10.60 miles per hour and 13.09 miles per hour during the winter.
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Q: How do you see the reduction in staffing and funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) affecting the ability to forecast the weather?
– Daniel Spirer, Berkshire County
The cutting of staff and voluntary buyouts at NOAA and at the National Weather Service have been an ongoing discussion in the industry and among my peers. And quite frankly, forecasting in general has suffered because of it.
There are two main concerns that I have. Part of the reason why the National Weather Service is so darn accurate is because of the data received from weather balloon launches that used to occur multiple times per day, shaping forecasts across the country. Many offices have dropped the frequency of launches, which opens the door for more discrepancies in forecasts. It's always better to have more clues to solve a case than to have fewer, right?
Then I think about areas of the country that have been hammered with severe weather since the layoffs, i.e., tornado season currently underway across the Plains, the Midwest, and the South. There has been a tremendous amount of severe weather this season, with some National Weather Service offices scrambling to keep the public notified as outbreaks occur.
Short-staffed offices have to prioritize what gets the most attention. Do storm surveys get punted because there aren't enough people working? What happens if staffing isn't possible overnight? I've already seen initiatives shut down ahead of the hurricane season that would have resulted in better forecasting and preparedness.
All in all, forecasting suffers when experts and meteorologists can't do their job to protect the public. In a world where extreme weather is increasing in both frequency and severity, it's not the time to make the public even more at risk.
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Erick Ramos searches through the remains of his auto body shop in Lake City, Ark., after it was destroyed in a tornado, April 3, 2025.
BRAD J. VEST/NYT
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