April is the Windiest Month of the Year in Iowa

It’s probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but April is the windiest month in Iowa.

I'm sure you've uttered the phrase "If it weren't for the wind..."

So far this month in Waterloo, April 1^st was the calmest day of the month --- which is usually the windiest day of the entire year in Waterloo, according to weatherspark.com.

But since April Fools’ Day, it’s been quite gusty in the Cedar Valley. Except for April 1 and April 3, the average wind speed in Waterloo each day this month has been over 10 MPH.

From 1994-2021 at the weather station in Oelwein, the wind speed really picks up around 8 AM and peaks between 12 PM and 4 PM before subsiding around sunset during the month of April:

Between 2006-2020, The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued an average of just under 14 Wind Advisories per year in its coverage area. The NWS in Des Moines overseas 51 counties in the state.

According to eai.gov;

• Iowa's nearly 5,100 wind turbines generated 42% of the state's electricity in 2019, the highest wind power share for any state.
• In 2019, wind turbines generated more electricity in Iowa than coal-fired power plants for the first time, as coal's share of net generation in the state declined by more than half over the past decade to 35%.