Is South Dakota the Windiest State in the Entire U.S.?

Spend any period of time in the Mount Rushmore State and you'll hear people complain about how windy it is here. The past few weeks have been pretty brutal in terms of wind, that's for sure.

But is South Dakota the windiest state in the country? And how does it stack up against the rest of the U.S.?

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The data analyzing website, Stacker factored in a number of key details in determining the windiest states, including the average wind speed in each state.

Here are the top 5 windiest states:

5) Montana: Average wind speed is 20.5 mph. If you're looking to avoid the wind here, steer clear of East Glacier, which is said to have the highest wind speeds in the entire state.

4) Nebraska: Average wind speed is 20.5 mph. Nebraska's windiest month of the year? April.

3) Michigan: Average wind speed is 20.9 mph. With as much wind as Michigan gets, it should be no surprise that they have more wind farms than most states. Michigan also gets a lot of lake effect wind, as it's nearly surrounded by the Great Lakes of Huron, Superior, Erie, and of course, Lake Michigan.

2) Wyoming: Average wind speed is 21.5 mph. Why is Wyoming so windy? Mainly due to its location and close proximity to the continental divide. It also sits in the ideal spot for the jet stream to cause mischief.

1) Alaska: Average wind speed is 21.9 mph. Yep, our largest state is also our windiest? Surprised? Don't be. The last frontier has to deal with coastal and interior winds all year long.

So, where does South Dakota rank on the list?

As it turns out, we're just outside the top 5 at number 6. South Dakota's average wind speed is 20.3 mph.

To see the full list and find out what the least windy state is (hint, it's known as the sunshine state) visit the Stacker website.

Story Source: Stacker