April lives up to 'very windy' reputation in the Twin Cities

April is living up to its billing as the windiest month of the year in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota where peak gusts of 30 mph or stronger have been recorded on all but two days this month.

The strongest gust recorded at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the official weather observation spot for the Twin Cities, was 50 mph on April 16, and there have been six days with a wind gust of 40 mph or higher, according to Minnesota Climatology records.

"It's been very windy, even by April standards," said Eric Ahasic, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. "It's not that uncommon."

A typical April day will bring an average wind speed of 11.5 mph, Ahasic said. But there have been 11 days that have surpassed that mark, he said.

March, May, November and October are also quite breezy with average wind speeds of 10.5 mph. June, July and August tend to be the calmest months, Ahasic said.

A strong temperature gradient and volatility are driving the windy conditions. After reaching a high of 85 degrees on April 13, the mercury reached only 38 degrees on Friday and fell below freezing over the weekend.

"We still have very cold air over the poles and it's warm at the equator," Ahasic said. "We are in a transition month. Fall and spring are generally windy seasons."

The strongest winds of the day may only last for a minute, so it's not a sustained blast, Ahasic said. But that is long enough to blow unsecured objects around.

On Monday, another wind advisory was in place across southern Minnesota from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. as wind gusts could reach between 25 and 45 mph, the Weather Service said.

"Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result," the advisory said. "Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles."

Gusts as strong as 30 mph are possible in the metro area Monday, the Weather Service said.

Another day of flag-flapping conditions is on tap for Tuesday in the metro before a brief reprieve arrives Wednesday with winds relaxing to between 5 and 10 mph. Then they will pick up again over the weekend with a chance for rain and a few thunderstorms in the forecast.

"It's rare to have calm days in the spring," Ahasic said.