The One Minute Geographer: The Great Plains — The Good Wind and the Bad Wind

Wind speed in meters per second from the National Renewal Energy Lab. Meridian added by the author.

More from the One Minute Geographer about the 100-degree meridian and how it relates to wind, wind power generation and tornadoes.

The Great Plains is the windiest area of the continental United States. The absence of trees helps make it windy on the surface, but the main reasons for the winds are airstreams coming down from the…