If you just walked outside and felt like the air was trying to push you back into your house, you aren't imagining things. Weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere are currently doing some pretty wild stuff. It's Wednesday, January 14, 2026, and if you’re asking how fast are the winds right now, the answer depends entirely on whether you’re standing in a Chicago wind tunnel, a California mountain pass, or literally in the vacuum of space.
Right now, we are seeing a massive tug-of-war in the atmosphere. The big news today is a significant Polar Vortex disruption that’s sending ripples of high-velocity air across North America and Europe. While your local backyard might just have a light breeze, other parts of the world are currently getting hammered by gusts that could peel the shingles off a roof.
The Current Heavy Hitters: Where the Wind is Raging
If you happen to be in the Front Range of Colorado or the central Wyoming mountains today, hold onto your hat. Literally. The National Weather Service has been tracking gusts up to 70 mph in these higher elevations. That’s not just "breezy"—that’s "difficult to keep your car in the lane" territory.
Chicago is also having a rough go of it. Earlier today, O’Hare International Airport had to pull the plug on ground operations for nearly three hours. Why? Winds were clocking in at over 50 mph during a snow squall. It basically turned the airport into a whiteout zone where pilots couldn't see the asphalt, let alone land a multi-million dollar aircraft.
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- Colorado/Wyoming Peaks: Gusts hitting 65–70 mph.
- The Great Lakes Region: Sustained winds of 25 mph with frequent spikes over 50 mph.
- Northern California: Offshore winds are starting to crank up, with potential for enhanced fire risk in dry spots.
- The United Kingdom/France: They are still reeling from the tail end of Storm Goretti, which reportedly saw winds scream past 120 mph in some coastal areas just 48 hours ago.
It’s easy to think of wind as just "moving air," but when it hits 50 mph, the physics change. The force exerted on a building or a person doesn't just double when the wind speed doubles—it quadruples. That’s why a 40 mph wind feels significantly more "violent" than a 20 mph breeze.
Why the Air is Moving So Fast Today
You can blame the stratosphere. Seriously.
Meteorologists have been watching a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event that kicked off earlier this month. Usually, the Polar Vortex is this tight, spinning top of cold air over the North Pole. It keeps the crazy winds locked up north. But right now, that "top" has wobbled and elongated.
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When the Polar Vortex stretches, it lets the jet stream—that river of fast-moving air high above our heads—dip way south. This creates massive pressure differences. Since wind is basically just air rushing from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas to find a balance, those steep "pressure gradients" act like a slide, accelerating the air to the speeds we're seeing in the Midwest and the Rockies right now.
Measuring "Fast": Surface vs. Space
When most people ask how fast are the winds right now, they mean at the surface where they’re walking the dog. But the "weather layer" (the 500 millibar height) is where the real action is. Up at about 20,000 feet, the winds are likely screaming at 100 to 150 mph today, steering the storms that will hit the East Coast by the weekend.
Then there’s the solar wind. This is a bit of a "nerd out" moment, but it’s actually relevant today. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center is reporting solar winds hitting Earth's magnetic field at a staggering 504 km/sec. That’s over 1.1 million miles per hour. Luckily, our atmosphere protects us from that, or we’d have much bigger problems than a delayed flight in Chicago.
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How to Check Your Specific Speed
Don't trust the "feels like" 10-day forecast on your phone if you need precision. If you’re a drone pilot, a sailor, or just someone who doesn't want their trampoline to end up in the next county, you need real-time data.
- Earth.nullschool.net: This is honestly the most beautiful way to see global winds. It uses GFS (Global Forecast System) data to show you exactly where the air is moving in real-time.
- ASOS/AWOS Stations: These are the automated sensors at airports. If you search for your local airport's code (like LAX or JFK) followed by "METAR," you can see the exact wind speed recorded in the last hour.
- The Beaufort Scale: If you don't have a sensor, look at the trees. If whole trees are in motion and it's hard to walk against the wind, you’re looking at Force 7 (around 32–38 mph). If branches are breaking off, you've hit Force 8 or higher.
Survival Steps for High-Wind Days
Basically, stop leaving your trash cans out. It sounds simple, but wind-blown debris is the number one cause of minor property damage during these January wind events. If you're in an area with 50+ mph gusts today:
- Move the car: Don't park under old oak trees or near power lines.
- Secure the "flight risks": Patio furniture, grills, and those plastic kids' slides will become projectiles.
- Watch the high-profile vehicles: If you're driving a van or a truck on I-80 through Wyoming or Nebraska today, just pull over. The "sail effect" is real and it will flip a trailer.
The winds aren't likely to die down for the interior West or the Great Plains anytime soon. With the La Niña pattern finally starting to break down as we move further into 2026, we’re seeing a highly volatile atmosphere. Stay tuned to your local NOAA weather radio, because when the wind moves this fast, conditions change in minutes, not hours.
Check your local airport's latest METAR report for the most accurate gust data before heading out on the highway today.