Highest Wind Speed

[ms_climo]

We all know the highest wind speed ever recorded was 231 mph in 1934.

But what was the second highest wind speed ever recorded at Mt Washington? Is there a list of the top 10?

The question is whether this 231 mph was an anomaly or if extremely high winds happen relatively frequently ("relatively" being a very relative term)

[Bill O]

I'd say that extremely high winds occur frequently. I bet somewhere in the world had 200+mph winds this week. Maybe in a tornado, or in a valley in Antartica or a ridge in the Himalaya.

As for Mount Washington it is extremely rare. Maybe a 1 in 100 year event, maybe more.

[Turd Ferguson]

We all know the highest wind speed ever recorded was 231 mph in 1934.

But what was the second highest wind speed ever recorded at Mt Washington? Is there a list of the top 10?

The question is whether this 231 mph was an anomaly or if extremely high winds happen relatively frequently ("relatively" being a very relative term)

If you follow this link you can see the highest recorded wind speeds for the months - which will give you a top 12 list. Scroll down after following the link.

http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/normals.php