MigrAid Press Kit
Media resources for the 2026 U.S. Migraine Risk Index and MigrAid coverage.
Coverage
- Migraine Again (Everyday Health) · September 2, 2026 The Best and Worst U.S. Cities for People With Weather-Triggered Migraine Attacks, by Wendy Neri, medically reviewed. Built on the revised index, with the full favorable and challenging top tens.
- Denver Gazette · May 26, 2026 Two Colorado cities among worst in country for 'migraine sufferers', on the original edition of the index.
The Study
The first 100-city migraine risk analysis since Sperling's 2006 study, and the first built entirely on measured atmospheric pressure. MigrAid scored the 100 largest U.S. metros from three years of hourly surface-pressure observations (April 2023 through March 2026, roughly 26,000 readings per city) on three factors: trigger season length, swing severity, and baseline pressure.
The revised edition (v1.1) was published on August 26, 2026 after a journalist's fact-check exposed two text-derived factors in the original; every city was rescored from the hourly record and the correction is documented on the report page. Read the full report →
Top 5 Findings
- Colorado Springs is America's highest-risk city for weather-driven migraine, scoring 91.73. Denver (77.86) and Flagstaff (73.2) complete an all-high-altitude top three.
- Altitude is the strongest single signal. The three most challenging cities all sit above 5,000 feet, where baseline pressure near 800 to 840 hPa makes every swing proportionally larger and mountain winds move the barometer fast. Flagstaff records 231 severe-swing days a year, the most in the index.
- January is America's worst migraine month, qualifying as peak trigger season in 86 of 100 cities. July qualifies in none.
- Honolulu has the calmest atmosphere in the country at rank 100, with severe pressure swings on fewer than one day in three hundred. California holds six of the ten most favorable metros.
- The Northeast is the most challenging region on average, edging past the Mountain West once cities are scored on measured storm frequency. New York ranks 15th.
Top 5 Most Challenging Cities
| Rank | City | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado Springs, CO | 91.73 |
| 2 | Denver, CO | 77.86 |
| 3 | Flagstaff, AZ | 73.2 |
| 4 | Fargo, ND | 70.11 |
| 5 | Santa Fe, NM | 69.73 |
Top 5 Most Favorable Cities
| Rank | City | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Honolulu, HI | 0.04 |
| 99 | San Diego, CA | 0.42 |
| 98 | Miami, FL | 0.55 |
| 97 | Tampa, FL | 1.6 |
| 96 | Los Angeles, CA | 1.72 |
Methodology (Brief)
Three weighted factors, all measured: Trigger Season Length (53.3%), the number of months in which at least 35% of days saw a sea-level-equivalent pressure drop of 5 hPa or more within 24 hours; Swing Severity (33.3%), days per year with a drop of 10 hPa in 24 hours or 5 hPa in 6 hours; and Baseline Pressure (13.3%), the city's mean surface pressure. Pressure changes are scaled to sea-level equivalent so altitude is compared fairly. The index does not score air quality, migraine prevalence, or healthcare access. Full methodology, the correction notice, and the complete ranking are in the full report; sources include Headache 2023, Frontiers in Neurology 2025, and Cureus 2025.
Downloads
Press Contact
Ross Salimov, Founder
MigrAid · Salimov Studios
Email: [email protected]
Happy to answer questions by email, with commentary on weather-driven migraine research and city-specific data cuts.
About MigrAid
MigrAid is a migraine tracking app for iOS and Android that helps people identify personal triggers, anticipate elevated-risk days, and export a PDF or CSV summary for their doctor. The app records local barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature automatically with every logged attack.
MigrAid is built by Salimov Studios. The 2026 U.S. Migraine Risk Index was compiled by MigrAid's research team from hourly surface-pressure observations for the 100 largest U.S. metros and peer-reviewed migraine trigger literature.
Boilerplate
MigrAid is a migraine tracking and forecasting app for iOS and Android that records local weather data (barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature) with every logged attack. The company publishes the annual U.S. Migraine Risk Index and makes city-level migraine weather forecasts freely available at migraid.app/risk/.