The record for the fastest winds the earth’s surface has ever endured was broken in the 1990s, according to a report released by the World Meteorological Organization last Friday.
Prior to the record-breaking wind gusts observed on Barrow Island, Australia, New Hampshire’s Mount Washington set the record during an April 1934 spring storm which created a measured 231 mph wind gust.
Barrow Island’s new record topples the 65-year-old record held by Mount Washington, and is calculated to come in at 253 mph. That record-breaking wind gust was observed in 1996 during Cyclone Olivia.
While the record-breaking gust occurred 14 years ago, meteorologist and scientists only recently established the record officially.
The calculations yielding the speed of wind gusts during Cyclone Olivia are, however, open to analysis, claims executive Director of Mount Washington Observatory, Scot Henley.
According to Henley, “It’s natural to treat news like this with some level of skepticism.”
“We’re going to spend some time reviewing the materials to learn more about the instrumentation, calibration, the methods used to calculate the wind speed, and everything else that went into their investigation,” he furthered.
Mount Washington, known as “Agiocochook”, or “Home of the Great Spirits” by indigenous Americans prior to the European settlement, is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States.
Though apparently no longer holding its position as the home of the fastest wind ever occurring on the Earth’s surface, it continues to be home to winds exceeding hurricane force over 100 days a year.
Ken Rancourt, Mount Washington Observatory’s director of Summit Operations stated, “The new record does not diminish the fact that Mount Washington is one of the fiercest places on the planet ... it remains consistently one of the windiest places on Earth and a location that begs further study of wind, weather and climate.”
Prior to the record-breaking wind gusts observed on Barrow Island, Australia, New Hampshire’s Mount Washington set the record during an April 1934 spring storm which created a measured 231 mph wind gust.
Barrow Island’s new record topples the 65-year-old record held by Mount Washington, and is calculated to come in at 253 mph. That record-breaking wind gust was observed in 1996 during Cyclone Olivia.
While the record-breaking gust occurred 14 years ago, meteorologist and scientists only recently established the record officially.
The calculations yielding the speed of wind gusts during Cyclone Olivia are, however, open to analysis, claims executive Director of Mount Washington Observatory, Scot Henley.
According to Henley, “It’s natural to treat news like this with some level of skepticism.”
“We’re going to spend some time reviewing the materials to learn more about the instrumentation, calibration, the methods used to calculate the wind speed, and everything else that went into their investigation,” he furthered.
Mount Washington, known as “Agiocochook”, or “Home of the Great Spirits” by indigenous Americans prior to the European settlement, is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States.
Though apparently no longer holding its position as the home of the fastest wind ever occurring on the Earth’s surface, it continues to be home to winds exceeding hurricane force over 100 days a year.
Ken Rancourt, Mount Washington Observatory’s director of Summit Operations stated, “The new record does not diminish the fact that Mount Washington is one of the fiercest places on the planet ... it remains consistently one of the windiest places on Earth and a location that begs further study of wind, weather and climate.”
