On average, March is the windiest month of the year, with February and April close seconds. What is it about these months that makes for such good kite-flying weather?

This time of year, the earth's surface warms quickly because the sun is higher in the sky and daylight lasts longer. In turn, the low levels of the air also warm quickly. But at high altitudes away from the warming ground, winter's chill lingers longer. This kind of vertical temperature setup - stubborn chill above increasing warmth - results in lots of rising warm air and sinking cold air.

This tendency for lots of up and down motions helps make March such a windy month. You see, winds at high altitudes are still speedy right now. So all the up and down motion also mixes that faster-moving air with the slower-moving air near the ground. Finally, this "mixing" speeds up winds near the surface and results in blustery afternoons, even if the nearest storm is hundreds of miles away.