At the start of this month, I went to Sea Isle City to give a talk to the Garden Club. The group of ladies was nice, and one of them asked me a question that was a lot like this one.
“Has it been windier at the Jersey Shore lately?”
Sea Isle City isn’t the only town to ask this. From Cape May to Ventnor and points north, this has been a popular question during my public, and private, weather talks. The uptick in questions started in 2021 and 2022 and persisted. However, this may be a question of perception and not reality.
How has the wind changed at Jersey Shore?
Believe it or not, the winds have been calmer at Jersey Shore in recent decades.
At Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, the average wind speed in 2024 was 8.11 mph, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. While that was above the 7.8 mph average in 2023, wind speeds have been in decline for a while.
Consider that during the past 30 years, the trendline for winds decreased from about 8.7 mph to 8.2 mph. That’s not much, but it proves the point that the wind speed has not increased in recent years.
To prove this is true another way, I even sorted by the number of days in a year with sustained winds of at least 15 mph. That’s a breezy day.
Again, there’s been a slight decline in the number of days. As of Nov. 17, ACY Airport experienced 24 such days. That is more than the past two years, but the longer-term trend shows a decline.
It is interesting to see the big drop in the wind speeds that occurred in the 1970s. The long-term average dropped from 10.5 mph from 1947 to 1976, to 9.0 mph from 1977 to 2006.
More than likely, the wind equipment used at the airport changed at some point in the 1970s. That led to weakening wind speeds.
Going beyond ACY Airport, the Iowa Environmental Mesonet data in other places prove that the windier days are just perception. The average wind speed at Lower Township’s Cape May County Airport has remained consistent at around 8.2 mph since records began in 1992.
Meanwhile, at Monmouth County Executive Airport in Wall, the trendline is also pointing toward calmer years. 2025 is the first year that was as windy as at the average since 2018, getting to 8.4 mph through Nov. 17. Windier-than-average years were the norm from 1999 to 2007.
Have very windy days happened more often in N.J.?
It depends.
Since records began being kept in 2006, the trendline for the number of wind alerts issued by the National Weather Service has fallen over time in New Jersey.
High wind warnings, which are issued by the weather service when winds can damage life or property, occur 4.5 times a year, according to the mesonet. However, that’s a slight drop from the first 10 years of records, which was 4.7 times.
Meanwhile, wind advisories that are issued for nuisance wind issues saw a slight increase. The average since 2006 has been 20.7 times per year. The first 10 years of record keeping was 19.9, though.
With the average wind speed dropping over time, and the most severe winds happening slightly less often, don’t look too much into the bump up in wind advisories.
Why is it feeling windier in N.J.?
I don’t have any scientific evidence for this, but here’s my theory on why it’s felt windier in recent years.
We’re outside more.
From 2020 to 2021, in the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us that were healthy rekindled our relationship with the great outdoors. More walks and runs outside. More time in the garden or at cookouts. More time at the beach.
All of that may keep us in tune with the wind more than before. As outdoor workers will tell you, wind does impact the ability to get things done. So, perhaps that’s why.
Otherwise, the data says we must keep searching for answers because it hasn’t been windier.
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Joe Martucci, a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and Digital Meteorologist, is the President and Director of Meteorology for Cup A Joe Weather and Drone. You can connect with him at cupajoe.live.
