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Wellington, New Zealand -

Wellington on North Island, the capital city of New Zealand, may look a picture of tranquility, but it is generally very windy all year round. Indeed, the highest wind speed recorded in the city is 241 km/h (154 mph).

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Wellington, New Zealand -

Wellington's windiest year saw gale force winds batter the city for 233 days. On average, though, Wellington gets hit with winds averaging 43.5 km/h (27 mph).

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Bridge Creek, Oklahoma -

According to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) data, Oklahoma in the United States is the home of the record for highest tornadic wind speed: 486 km/h (302 mph) was recorded near Bridge Creek on May 3, 1999.

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Bridge Creek, Oklahoma -

The wind speed was measured by a storm chaser using a a truck-mounted doppler radar unit. Some say the tornado whipped up winds of up to 511 km/h (318 mph), but this figure was never officially confirmed.

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Mount Washington, New Hampshire -

Mount Washington observatory's original building (pictured) survived what was then the fiercest blast ever recorded in world observatory history, when on April 12, 1934 the wind blew at the phenomenal rate of 371 km/h (231 mph) across America's New Hampshire state.

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Mount Washington, New Hampshire -

Hurricane speed winds of 160 km/h (100 mph) are commonplace on this 1,916-km (6,288-ft) New Hampshire peak, though wind velocity averages 51 km/h (31 mph) year round.

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Barrow Island, Australia -

Anchored off the north-west coast of Australia is Barrow Island. It was here on April 10, 1996 that an unmanned weather station recorded a gust of wind that reached 408 km/h (253 mph).

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Barrow Island, Australia -

According to the WMO, it was the strongest gust of wind ever recorded, beating the previous record of 371 km/h (231 mph) set in New Hampshire in 1934. The driving force behind Barrow Island's extreme record was Tropical Cyclone Olivia.

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Mount Everest -

At an elevation of 8,848 m (29,029 ft), Mount Everest is subject to some phenomenal wind speeds, especially between November and February when winds of over 160 km/h (100 mph) are commonplace.

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Mount Everest -

The highest recorded wind speed on Everest is 281 km/h (175 mph), measured in February 2004.

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Cape Blanco, Oregon -

Cape Blanco extends further west than any point of land in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). The destination is infamous for the mighty winter storms that whip up winds of up to 160 km/p (100 mph) in strength.

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Cape Blanco, Oregon, US -

In fact, wind speeds over Cape Blanco have been recorded up to 204 km/h (127 mph), making this part of the coast especially dangerous for shipping.

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Gruissan, France -

Situated on southern France's Mediterranean coast, Gruissan is regularly affected by the dominant Tramontane wind.

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Gruissan, France -

The Tramontane sweeps in from the northwest to hit the region with winds of over 29 km/h (18 mph) for an average 300 days of the year.

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Rio Gallegos, Argentina -

Rio Gallegos in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz is among the world's windiest places. Winds above 50 km/h (31 mph) are commonplace, and those over 100 km/h (62 mph) are not exceptional.

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Rio Gallegos, Argentina -

These powerful and relentless winds have bent the region's vegetation to the point where trees appear stunted and deformed.

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Dodge City, Kansas, US -

Known for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West, Dodge City is often cited as the windiest city in the United States, with higher than average wind speeds of 22.4 km/h (13.9 mph) shifting tumbleweed like a runaway train.

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Dodge City, Kansas, US -

Kansas sits in America's notorious Tornado Alley, but the winds barreling down off the Rockies and into the Plains play a far more significant role than the occasional twister does in setting that high average.

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St. John's, Canada -

St. John's is the capital city of Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador province. It's known as the windiest city in Canada, swept as it is for much of the year by an average wind speed of 21 km/p (13 mph).

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St. John's, Canada -

The wind gusts over 48 km/h (30 mph) on an average of 50 days a year. But the city is also one of the areas of the country most prone to tropical cyclone activity, as it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, where tropical storms (and sometimes hurricanes) swirl in from the United States.

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Baku, Azerbaijan -

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is known as the City of Winds. There are two winds common to Baku: cold and rough Khazri, and mild and gentle Gilavar.

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Baku, Azerbaijan -

The speed of the Khazri wind sometimes reaches 144 km/h (89 mph), exacerbated by the fact that Baku sits 28 m (92 ft) below sea level (the lowest lying capital city in the world, incidentally), meaning there is little to impede these ferocious gusts. Though no wind is strong enough to bring down the city's striking Flame Towers (pictured).

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Chicago, Illinois, US -

Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago certainly deserves its nickname. The Windy City is exactly that.

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Chicago, Illinois, US -

Summer temperatures are kept pleasantly mild by wind whipping off the lake. However, those same winds can turn to blizzards in winter and bring bone-chilling lows like the −33 °C (−27 °F) record that was set on January 20, 1985.

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Western Scotland -

Scotland is hit with average wind speeds of between 24 km/h (15 mph ) and 27 km/h (17 mph), and is officially the United Kingdom's windiest place. The gusts are strongest in Western Scotland, where some areas experience nearly a month's worth of gale force winds per year.

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Shetland, Scotland -

The UK's Met Office also lists Shetland (pictured) as being the gustiest place in Britain, with annual average winds speeds reaching 27 km/p (17 mph) in exposed areas.

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Tarifa, Spain -

Lying on Spain's exposed Costa de la Luz and across from the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco, Tarifa's winds make it the most popular destination in Europe with windsurfers and kitesurfers.

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Tarifa, Spain -

Favorable gusts prevail almost year round, meaning Tarifa experiences exceptionally strong and consistent winds.

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Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica -

The windiest place on Earth is Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica. From February 1912 to December 1913, scientists at Cape Denison, a rocky cape at the head of the bay, measured the windiest hour ever recorded, at 153 km/h (95 mph). The region's high-density katabatic winds, however, are regularly recorded at over 241 km/h (150 mph).

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Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica -

The Guinness Book of World Records and National Geographic Atlas have both subsequently listed Commonwealth Bay as the most blustery area on Earth. The average annual wind speed is 80.5 km/h (50 mph).

See also: Antarctica: a frozen wilderness of staggering beauty.

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