California Has A New Wind-Speed Record: 199 MPH
ALPINE MEADOWS (AP) -- Scientists say a 199-mph gust that blasted a mountaintop at the Alpine Meadows ski resort last February was the strongest wind ever recorded in California.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday it was also the strongest non-tornado wind in the United States last year.
What a year 2017 was! A strong storm in February had a powerful wind gust of 199 mph, establishing a record for #California! This was at Ward Peak west of Lake Tahoe on the Sierra crest. Record certified by NCEI. https://t.co/AbhvwLC7da @NOAANCEICLIMATE @WRCCclimate @CA_DWR #cawx pic.twitter.com/L6pkFATic4
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) January 5, 2018
Tom Padham, a meteorologist with the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, tells the San Francisco Chronicle that even in winds of 120 mph, a person is not able to stand.
Mount Washington holds the record for fastest wind speed in the country -- a 231-mph gust in April 1934. That stood as the world record for 62 years, until a 253-mph wind was noted during a typhoon on Barrow Island, Australia.
The 199-mph gust whipped Ward Peak in Alpine Meadows the night of Feb. 20 during a storm.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.