Posted on 04/12/2009 5:00:05 AM PDT by billorites
SARGENT'S PURCHASE – On this date, a tremendous gust blew over the roof of New Hampshire, a huge breath of air created by a series of remarkable weather patterns merging over the summit of Mount Washington and huffing its way to a world record that remains unbroken 75 years later.
"A lot of things came together on one day," said Mount Washington Observatory meteorologist Brian Clark, who has researched extensively what has become known simply as the "Big Wind."
"This was a once-in-100-years event," Clark said.
By early afternoon on April 12, 1934, the three observers at what was then the fledgling Mount Washington Observatory atop the 6,288-foot summit had spent an intense morning measuring ever-increasing winds, including a rare southwest wind, until one gust shook the wooden building at 1:21 p.m.
When they checked their instruments, the observers discovered the gust head measured an astonishing 231 mph.
"The actual title of the record is the 'highest wind ever recorded on the surface of the Earth by means of an anemometer,' " said Clark.
For perspective, 231 mph is three times greater than hurricane-strength winds.
On the Beaufort Scale, a wind-measurement system that goes from zero to 12, a Force 10 wind measures between 55 and 63 mph, at which point trees can be uprooted and considerable property damage can be sustained. Force 12 is 118 to 132 mph.
The Big Wind measured 99 mph stronger than the Beaufort Scale's highest level. Right place, right time
Earth is a big and diverse place, with geographical locations and meteorological conditions more extreme than anything in New Hampshire. Think Mount Everest, for example.
Clark suspects that a stronger wind might have blown somewhere on the planet over the decades, but in all the world through all these years, the only place where people actually recorded such a wind velocity was atop Mount Washington.
To that extent, the record is a testament to the three men atop the mountain that day -- Salvatore Pagliuca, Alex McKenzie and Wendell Stephenson -- as well as to the extraordinary strength of the wind itself.
The Observatory had opened only two years earlier, and the three men were among the first to take up residence on the summit, beginning a tradition of measuring the weather in the name of science and society.
"It would have been great to meet them," said Clark. "What these guys did was set the stage for what we are today."
The three men have passed on, leaving behind the world record they recorded -- a record that has withstood several challenges, the most serious a dozen years ago.
Ironically, McKenzie, who lived in Eaton and was the last surviving observer of the Big Wind, had died at age 89 only a few days before Typhoon Paka made a devastating sweep over Guam on Dec. 16, 1997.
A gust of 236 mph was recorded at Andersen Air Force base that day, but three months later, the National Climate Extremes Committee determined that the recorded wind was not accurate "and cannot be accepted as a world-record wind speed." The observatory today
The Mount Washington Observatory these days is located in the sturdy concrete confines of the Sherman Adams building at the summit, occupied by crews that spend one week on the mountain and one week off. They share the quarters with state-of-the-art equipment far evolved from what the 1934 observers had.
"We have the luxury of watching computer models," said Clark, explaining how moder-day observers know days in advance what will come over the summit. When high winds are expected, he said, "we get excited; we can see it coming."
And whereas the 1934 crew made its observations from a wooden building chained to the ground, today's observatory is better suited to withstand high winds -- although when they really get blowing, Clark said, it sounds like a freight train passing by.
The Big Wind is always a source of questions and intrigue on the part of visitors and those in the meteorological world.
"People always ask 'What's been the highest wind since 1934?'," Clark said.
For the answer, the record books from December 1980 are open to see: 182 mph. Other record winds include 180 mph in March 1942 and 173 mph in 1985.
"They ask why there is such a difference," he said. "This was something that happened in one day, when a lot of things came together and you can't expect that on a regular basis."
Holding the world record wind atop what is, a comparatively small mountain in the scheme of the world's geography, is a source of pride not only for the Observatory, but for Granite Staters in general.
"Some day the record will be broken," Clark said.
In the meantime, the observatory staff will celebrate this afternoon, which is predicted to be "not too terribly windy" at 50 to 60 mph, Clark said.
“Brian Clark, who has researched extensively what has become known simply as the “Big Wind.”
There’s a Ted Kennedy flatulence joke there somewhee......
231 mph is impressive. To put things in perspective, 80 mph is generally considered to be the wind speed that will just lift an average human into the air.
May 3, 1999, mobile doppler radar units operated by the National Weather Service recorded winds of 301 MPH in an F5 tornado. This was recorded near Bridge Creek, just on the southwest side of Oklahoma City. The recorded wind speed was +- 20mph.
One wonders how a wooden building remained standing, even if chained to the ground.
I know, I read the article.
People find it hard to believe that a “hill” in New England can be so dangerous. Those are people who haven’t been there. It has snowed every month of the year on Mt Washington and people have frozen to death every month of the year there. It’s less than 7000 feet high but has amazing weather.
Which makes you the exception ;o
“I think Mount Washington has claimed the lives of more visiters than any other mountain in North America.”
Yea, the last time I checked, downshifting an automatic transmission was not on a driver’s test. Bottom line, if you are going to operate machinery, take a few minutes to understand it (especially you feminists).
I took the Cog Railway up Mount Washington last summer.
That was really cool.
Towards the top it seems like your on a different planet.
Most of fatalities were hikers. I’m not counting traffic and rail accidents. It’s quit a narrow road, with a shear drop and no guard rail in places. My wife made me turn around about 2/3’s of the way up, first time I attempted it. Actually, since most people trust their own driving, I had her drive up. She pulled into a parking spot about 2/3’s up and had me drive down.
I came back latter in my 4WD standard transmission Ford Ranger and took it myself, no real problem. There have only been two fatalities on the mountain road, one a carriage accident in 1880 and an auto accident in 1984 due to brake failure.
They have a cog railway in operation since 1869, that suffered a derailment in 1967, killing eight passengers.well.
I’ve been up the Rockpile many times and it never ceases to amaze me how violently different the weather can be at altitude. I’ve started out at the base on cloudy, cool early summer days and encountered such ferocious winds and squalls upon passing the treeline that you’d think you were on another planet. The Observatory is quite impressive and they have a nice gift shop. One of the things you notice while inside (other than you’re no longer being buffeted by the wind) is the thickness of the glass around the building, necessitated by the power of nature outside.
When I was there in the summer, there were some guys working on the instrumentation on the roof, speaking German. I assume they were either Swiss or Austrian. Funny that they didn’t speak Swiss or Austrian, though.
LOL. Better keep Obama away from Mt. Washington. When he finds out there are no minorities stationed there, he'll demand an investigation.
Cue Grouch Marx: “With winds like this, who needs anemometers?”
40 years ago, I stayed overnight in one of the buildings at the top of Mt. Washington. (I knew someone who worked there.) This was in July, and the normal winds sounded like a hurricane. Can’t imagine what’s it like during a storm.
Now that’s funny!
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