Wind-speed record

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

dvbl

Guest
With the continuous advances being made in the world of instrumentation (for medicine, engineering, navigation, etc), what was considered an accurate measurement 20, 40, or 60 years ago may not be accurate today. Any thoughts on whether the 231 MPH wind recorded on Mt Washington in 1934(?) is legit?
 
Does it make a difference excpt to Guiness?

note also, that it is not the windiest place on earth. It is the windiest that has been measuered. There are lots of places without weather measuring devices. It is unknown whether weather is worse elsewhere.
 
dvbl said:
With the continuous advances being made in the world of instrumentation (for medicine, engineering, navigation, etc), what was considered an accurate measurement 20, 40, or 60 years ago may not be accurate today. Any thoughts on whether the 231 MPH wind recorded on Mt Washington in 1934(?) is legit?
Click to expand...

FWIW, that means it could be HIGHER! :eek:
 
dvbl said:
With the continuous advances being made in the world of instrumentation (for medicine, engineering, navigation, etc), what was considered an accurate measurement 20, 40, or 60 years ago may not be accurate today. Any thoughts on whether the 231 MPH wind recorded on Mt Washington in 1934(?) is legit?
Click to expand...
It is legit. The anemometer was removed shortly afterward and the calibration checked. It was ok.

Note that this is the "highest sustained wind recorded on the surface".

Tornado winds can be higher, but they are not sustained. And the wind from a hurricane hitting one of the Hawaiian Islands was a candidate to break the record.

Doug
 
Pete_Hickey said:
Does it make a difference except to Guiness?

It makes a difference to people who are interested in accurate scientific data.
Click to expand...
 
A 236 MPH wind gust in Guam in 1997? was eventually ruled to be unreliable as I remember. The anemometer used at Mt Washington was calibrated and then when the wind speed of 231 MPH was observed it was retested and found to still have a reliable calibration. Possible 3% under actual wind speed which means it could have actually been a gust of just under 238 MPH. :D

As far as things getting better over time, well, yes and no. 231 MPH was the same in 1934 as it is today. They may not have had the same resolution or accuracy but the meaning was exactly the same. :cool: :D

Keith
 
Last edited:
I believe there was a section in the book Tying Down the Wind by Eric Pinder that discussed this accuracy of the Mt. Wash anemometer. As DougPaul stated, the accuracy of the Mt. Wash instrument was verified shortly after the event.
 
Mechanical equipment

When I visited the Observatory as a member on tour about 6 years ago, I was shown the measurement equipment and was surprised how much of it was still mechanical and not electronic/digital.
The observers explained that due to frequent power losses and extreme weather, this equipment is more reliable and more accurate.
Things may have changed from my visit last, but this was the case then.

Nice to hear about advancements and all, but this was a good reminder of how to keep things simple without compromise.
Read about:
RECORD WIND!
 
Pete_Hickey said:
note also, that it is not the windiest place on earth. It is the windiest that has been measuered. There are lots of places without weather measuring devices. It is unknown whether weather is worse elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is likely that there have been stronger winds on higher, more remote mountains.

But the Observatory is justly proud that they not only have very bad weather but very good instruments capable of measuring and surviving a 231+/- mph wind, to a scientist or engineer that may be more significant :)
 
Antarctica

Pete_Hickey said:
note also, that it is not the windiest place on earth. It is the windiest that has been measuered. There are lots of places without weather measuring devices. It is unknown whether weather is worse elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Antarctica regularly has winds that could challenge 231mph; don't know what kind of official measurements exist.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Presi FKT
Replies
0
Views
1K
OldEric
O
Raven
An Explanation of Wind Speed and Power
Replies
6
Views
17K
iAmKrzys
iAmKrzys
Raven
Drifting in Northern Baxter State Park
Replies
5
Views
18K
TEO
TEO
Raven
A Burning Shelter, a Goal Completed, and a Stunning February Day
Replies
5
Views
3K
Raven
Raven
DayTrip
Exaggerated Wind Claims In Trail Reports
2
Replies
21
Views
6K
TCD
TCD

Latest posts

Top