Significance It is unknown whether wind currents shape large-scale gene flow in terrestrial organisms such as plants, though analogous river and ocean currents are known to strongly influence genetic patterns in aquatic organisms. We use newly developed “windscape” connectivity models in combination with a global multispecies forest genetics data set to demonstrate that wind shapes several distinct large-scale genetic patterns in many tree species, including population differentiation, migration direction, and genetic diversity. These findings advance our understanding of the spatial ecology and evolution of wind-dispersed and wind-pollinated plants. They also suggest that the geography of wind strength and direction could potentially influence patterns of forest vulnerability to human pressures like habitat fragmentation and climate change.