u/Fair-Antelope-3886

Ranked 100 U.S. cities on how bad the weather is for migraines. Portland came in at #11 with a score of 36.14.

The constant low pressure systems rolling in off the Pacific are a big part of it. That plus the gray skies and pressure changes through fall and winter. It's not as extreme as Denver (#1) or the upper Midwest but it's worse than most of the country.

San Diego is the best city on the list at #100. California in general does really well because the weather just doesn't change much.

Full thing: https://migraid.app/reports/city-migraine-index-2026/

Anyone else here feel like the rain season makes their migraines worse?

I went through weather data for 100 U.S. cities to figure out which ones have the worst conditions for migraines. Looked at pressure swings, temperature changes, humidity, storm patterns, that kind of thing.

Biggest takeaway was that elevation matters more than I expected. Denver scored 73.78 and Colorado Springs scored 62.98. The reason is that when you're already at high altitude the air is thinner, so the same pressure drop is a bigger deal percentage-wise. And the research points to relative pressure change as what actually sets off attacks.

Coastal California is on the other end. San Diego is the most stable. Makes sense if you've ever been there, the weather just doesn't really do anything.

If you've moved and noticed your migraines got better or worse, this might be why: https://migraid.app/reports/city-migraine-index-2026/

I ranked the 100 biggest U.S. cities by how bad their weather is for migraines. Salt Lake came in at #35 with a score of 27.72.

That puts us above the national median (24.94) but way below the worst cities. Denver is #1 at 73.78, Colorado Springs is #2. The elevation here plus the lake effect weather from the Great Salt Lake adds some pressure variability but it's not nearly as bad as the Front Range.

One thing from the bigger report that stuck out: November is the worst migraine month for almost everywhere. It's in the peak trigger window for 80 out of 100 cities.

Full breakdown: https://migraid.app/reports/city-migraine-index-2026/

Do inversions mess with anyone else's migraines here? I feel like that's gotta be a factor.

I scored the 100 biggest U.S. cities on weather-driven migraine risk and the Springs came in at #2, right behind Denver.

It's not that surprising honestly. We're sitting even higher than Denver, right at the base of Pikes Peak, with baseline pressure around 830 hPa. The Palmer Divide and the Rampart Range funnel weather through here in ways that cause pretty fast pressure swings, and that's what the research links to migraine attacks.

Denver got #1 with a score of 73.78, we're at 62.98. The whole Front Range corridor is basically the hardest part of the country if you're sensitive to weather.

All 100 cities and the full methodology: https://migraid.app/reports/city-migraine-index-2026/

Anyone else feel like their headaches are tied to when the weather shifts here?

I went through weather data for the 100 biggest U.S. cities and scored them on how bad they are for migraines. Denver came in first. By a lot.

Here's why it makes sense when you think about it:

At 5,280 ft the air pressure is already lower (around 840 hPa vs 1013 at sea level). So when a storm rolls through and drops pressure by 10-15 hPa, that's a bigger percentage swing up here than it would be at the coast. And newer research says it's the percentage change that actually triggers attacks, not the raw number.

Then you've got the Front Range doing its thing. Chinook winds can change the pressure pretty fast. And we get hit with weather from basically every direction.

Colorado Springs is #2 on the list so it's really a whole Front Range problem.

Full report with methodology and all 100 cities if anyone wants to nerd out: https://migraid.app/reports/city-migraine-index-2026/

Anyone else here get migraines that got noticeably worse after moving to Denver? Or did they get better when you left?