Posted by chicagomedia.org on August 18, 2009 at 12:42:33:
Chicago Blows...Literally.
David Wallach | Chicago Now
on 08.18.09
For those of you new to town, Chicago is named The Windy City, not because of the wind, but because of the long winded politicians. As a matter of fact, the average wind speed in Chicago is only 10 mph, as opposed to Dodge City, Kansas that blows at a consistent AVERAGE 14 mph.
Here's the rub, they (national weather service/data keepers) measure that wind speed at the airport, which is a far cry from Lake Shore Drive and the path that many of us train on.
Amy Freeze (coolest name in TV) Chief Meteorologist for Fox Chicago is one of the athletes who puts in the miles on Lake Shore Drive (anyone who uses LSD should return to Iowa) and knows that despite having an annual wind speed of only 10 miles an hour (or the speed of a Aaron Heilman fastball) Lake Shore Drive is windy, really windy, unbearably windy.
We checked in with Amy an accomplished marathon runner to try and unlock the mystery of the headwind that seems to go both ways on Lake Shore Drive. "There are no evil forces working against us on Lake Shore Drive, the wind can actually be blowing West to East across the path, it just appears to be going North to South, the direction you are traveling on the lake." It's a micro climate that develops because of the way the city is laid out.
Amy tells us that the way the city is laid out, major streets run east to west and with the help of huge skyscrapers this creates a massive wind tunnel, blowing West to East, in and out of the city and blasting you on Lake Shore Drive.
To add to the mess, the wind does blow predominately North in the Winter and South in the Summer. So basically we get it from every direction, but the bursts that seem to never end are like tourists from Wisconsin driving on the Kennedy, blowing from side to side without any regard for you.
While this meteorological mystery is now solved!, it doesn't make it any easier while you are riding or running, but at least now you know. If you really hate the wind, Amy has a few tips to help "the winds are less strong before dawn or at dusk. Also the way the lake is shaped comes into play, it's not an even edge, there are some spots that are going to be windier, it's much more severe going South from Navy Pier to Museum Campus."
Amy brought up a more important fact, that many of us overlook, "Lake Michigan is a massive body of water that affects the weather near the lake. "Besides massive winds, there can be fog banks and severe storms that form very quickly, so it's always good to double check the weather before heading out."
Amy's favorite spot for up to date weather is a the web site that's not owned by the Tribune, so I'm not sure I can mentions its name but it rhymes with Ox and Box and Lox.
So, now we know, training on Lake Shore Drive, "blows," literally! From the North, South, West and East! Amy looks at it as a competitive edge "This is our secret training weapon, it makes us stronger."