The Highest Anemometer-Measured Wind Speeds on Earth

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The Highest Anemometer-Measured Wind Speeds on Earth​

February 21, 2020, 10:38 PM EST

On February 9 this year, an anemometer at an elevation of 9186 feet on Mt. Kirkwood in the California Sierra reported a wind gust of 209 mph. If validated, this would be the highest wind gust on record for the state of California and potentially the fourth highest gust measured by an anemometer at any site on Earth.

However, a few hours later, the National Weather Service office in Sacramento posted a tweet questioning the validity of the measurement, noting: “the station seems to have multiple errors including 92 percent relative humidity during strong winds and the wind seemed to have been unusually strong the past few days at this station”.

This incident highlights how challenging it can be to confirm that an extremely high wind measurement is valid. Keeping these limitations in mind (see the “Usual Caveats” section at bottom), just what are the highest wind gusts ever measured on Earth by a land-based anemometer? By definition, we will exclude Doppler-estimated wind speeds from tornadoes or dropsonde wind measurements from within tropical storms.

Full article:

The Highest Anemometer-Measured Wind Speeds on Earth | Weather Underground