Ferocious winds are common in many parts of the United States, leading to insurance claims for wind damage to cars, homes and businesses.
About one in 30 insured homes has a property damage claim related to wind or hail each year, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
The property damage from a wind event is covered under standard homeowners, renters and business insurance policies. Damage to vehicles caused by wind is covered under the comprehensive portion of an auto insurance policy.
Have you ever wonder what U.S. metro areas is ranked as the windiest? The Irvine, Calif.-based company, CoreLogic, a provider of property risk data, has ranked the top windy, large cities for 2016.
|Wind verification analysis, technology
The ranking among the nation’s largest 279 metro areas incorporates both the number of single wind events over a 24-hour period, plus the maximum wind speed gust. A wind event is defined as an estimated 3 second gust at the city center, plus a 10-mile radius surrounding it. The maximum wind speed gust is derived from the highest estimated gust (mph) recorded over a 24-hour period.
The CoreLogic Windy City Index uses proprietary forensic wind verification technology to evaluate wind events and maximum wind gusts occurring at the ground level across the U.S. in cities with populations of 100,000 or more.
Unlike traditional wind records which rely on airport-based and private weather observation stations that record data at only one location, CoreLogic wind verification technology provides wind analysis at the property-specific level. The data is localized and geographically specific so that even cities that are very close together can be measured independently.
An analysis of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas shows that a soon-to-be-named southeast city ranks first as the windiest city with 21 wind-related events and a maximum wind speed of 72 mph. Can you guess which city ranked No. 1 for 2016?
Discover the cities ranked as the 10 windiest U.S. metro areas in 2016, according to the latest CoreLogic Windy City Index:
A man braces against the wind and waves as he walks down Bay Street in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
|10. Charleston, South Carolina
Number of wind events: 12
Maximum wind speed: 86 mph
(Photo: iStock)
|9. Clarksville, Tennessee
Number of wind events: 15
Maximum wind speed: 70 mph
(Photo: iStock)
|8. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Number of wind events: 13
Maximum wind speed: 73 mph
A tree lays on Cantrell Rd., Thursday, July 14, 2016, after a storm in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
|7. Little Rock, Arkansas
Number of wind events: 14
Maximum wind speed: 70 mph
(Photo: iStock)
|6. Louisville, Kentucky
Number of wind events: 14
Maximum wind speed: 68 mph
(Photo: iStock)
|5. Columbia, South Carolina
Number of wind events: 18
Maximum wind speed: 67 mph
(Photo: iStock)
|4. Cincinnati, Ohio
Number of wind events: 16
Maximum wind speed: 79 mph
(Photo: iStock)
|3. Jackson, Mississippi
Number of wind events: 21
Maximum wind speed: 71 mph
Smoke from a wind-driven brush fire on the southwest edge of Reno, Nev., blows across town as about 100 firefighters battled the blaze Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
|2. Reno, Nevada
Number of wind events: 14
Maximum wind speed: 90 mph
Two women run through a snow flurry Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
|1. Nashville, Tennessee
Number of wind events: 21
Maximum wind speed: 72 mph
|Hurricane Matthew registered top wind speed for 2016 at 101 mph
Kennedy Space Center, Florida, recorded the highest wind speed last year at 101 mph on Oct. 6 during Hurricane Matthew, according to the 2016 CoreLogic Windy City Index. The hurricane, which became the first Category 5 Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Felix in 2007, affected Florida, Georgia and South Carolina with high winds of 85 mph and above in multiple cities.
An additional 171 cities recorded winds ranging from 75 mph to 85 mph, which is considered significantly high by the National Weather Service, as a result of Hurricane Matthew.
Hurricane Matthew’s top wind speeds will result in insurance claims related specifically to wind events, and with insurance industry estimates putting wind damage at 25 percent of all insurance claims each year, that percentage will likely be higher in 2016 due to Matthew, according to CoreLogic.
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Jayleen R. Heft
Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].
