Looking back at Hurricane Gustav's record 211 mph wind gust
As we look back at the weather events of 2008, perhaps the most impressive record set during the year occurred during Hurricane Gustav, which pounded Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane in August. Gustav set a new world record for highest wind gust ever measured in a hurricane. As Gustav passed over the Paso Real de San Diego meteorological station in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on the afternoon of August 30, 2008, a wind gust of 211 mph (94.4 m/s) was recorded (it was originally pegged at 212 mph, but has been "downgraded" to 211 mph after an official review by the World Meteorological Organization). The powerful winds blew down the anemometer, and it is possible that higher gusts occurred after the instrument failed. Not only is this the highest wind speed ever measured in a hurricane, it is the second highest wind gust ever measured at a non-mountain location on Earth, and is the third highest wind gust ever measured on the surface of the planet. The highest wind gust in recorded history is the amazing 253 mph reading recorded on Barrow Island, Australia, during Tropical Cyclone Olivia in 1996. The second highest wind speed ever measured was 231 mph (370 km/hr) on the top of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, on April 12, 1934, during passage of an extratropical storm. The fourth highest wind gust on record was the 207 mph gust measured in Greenland at Thule Air Force Base on March 6, 1972. The previous highest wind gust measured in a hurricane was 186 mph at Blue Hill Observatory, Massachusetts, during the notorious 1938 "Long Island Express" hurricane.
Figure 1. Anemometer used to measure the record 211 mph gust in Hurricane Gustav. Gustav's powerful winds flattened the instrument against the roof of the observing station. Image credit: Jose M. Rubiera Torres, Instituto de Meteorologia of Cuba.
Is this a believable record?
The instrument used for the measurement in Gustav was a Dines pressure tube anemometer mounted on the roof of the weather office. According to Jose M. Rubiera Torres of Cuba's Instituto de Meteorologia, "The graph is neat and the instrument was in perfect technical working condition. The wind peaked up to 340 km/h and then the anemometer mast fell over the concrete roof of the station's building, sharply interrupting the measurement. The graph [Figure 2], shows that wind gusts were increasing at a regular pace with time, until the instrument broke down when it got to the 340 km/h mark." Dines anemometers have a proven track record of reliability, and have been used in Cuba for over 60 years. A formal committee under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) certified the record in 2009.
Figure 2. Trace of the Dines anemometer used to measure the record 211 mph gust in Hurricane Gustav. Image credit: Jose M. Rubiera Torres, Instituto de Meteorologia of Cuba.
How did such a strong gust occur?
At the time Hurricane Gustav moved over the Paso Real de San Diego meteorological station, the storm was rated a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph, gusting to 185 mph. When the peak wind gust of 211 mph was measured at 22:35 GMT, the western eyewall of Gustav was over the anemometer site, as seen on Cuban radar (Figure 3). The town of Paso Real de San Diego is at an elevation of about 40 meters, and lies 25 km inland, about 12 km south of a rugged line of mountains up to 700 meters high. The counter-clockwise flow of air around Gustav's eyewall meant that the winds arriving at Paso Real de San Diego were forced to pass over these mountains first. The mountains probably focused and accelerated the winds through gaps between the peaks, and the air accelerated further as it rushed downhill under the force of gravity. Strong downbursts due to collapsing precipitation cores inside Gustav's eyewall probably contributed to the extreme gusts. When hurricanes make landfall, the intense thunderstorm cells that comprise the eyewall sometimes collapse suddenly, sending a downward cascade of intense winds to the surface. When this rush of wind hits the ground, it spreads out in all directions, forming a strong surface wind event known as a downburst. It has been theorized that some of the extreme damage noted in Florida during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 may have been associated with downbursts from collapsing eyewall thunderstorm cells. This behavior may also be responsible for some of the extreme damage in Mississippi from Hurricane Katrina. Animations of infrared satellite imagery available from the University of Wisconsin CIMSS Satellite Blog show that the eyewall of Gustav collapsed during passage over the high mountains to the north of Paso Real de San Diego, but this occurred after the world record wind gust was measured.
Figure 3. Radar image of Hurricane Gustav (top) at 22:25 GMT on August 30 2008, five minutes before the world record 211 mph hurricane wind gust was measured. The site of the Paso Real de San Diego meteorological station where the record was set is marked with a red dot. A topographic map (bottom) shows the line of mountains up to 1200 meters high that lies just north of the town. The counter-clockwise flow of air around the eye of Gustav brought the strongest winds of Gustav across the mountain range then downhill to Paso Real de San Diego. Radar image credit: Instituto de Meteorologia of Cuba. Topographic map image credit: Wikipedia.
Note: this post was updated in 2010 to reflect the official WMO review of Gustav's wind gust, plus the addition of the new World Record wind gust set in TC Olivia in 1996.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Surfmom~ Thanks~ Hey if being a Mom was part of the prerequisite to being a country's leader~ we wouldn't be in most the mess we are now:)
Yeah the earth could destroy us but earth doesn't have a mind it can't just selectively kill us all and we can effect the entire world if meteors and volcanic eruptions can't do it in a few seconds then millions of people emitting greenhouse gases over thousands of years can do it too. You can't really expect us to tamper with anything in nature and expect nothing to happen. And even if we aren't contributing to GW our effects on nature would still be devastating. We already caused mass extinction I think just a hundred years more and we'll be pushed over the edge.
I see that nothing has changed... you keep forgetting that MichaelSTL's opinion is the only one that matters... anyone who has a different opinion or theory is obviously an uneducated moron who must be corrected or reprogrammed.. or god forbid banned/ignored for all eternity.. which may actually be longer then 24 minutes
LOL
Thank you.. same to you and yours :)
The 1st link about froze me up. Who funds "IlovemyCO2" anyway? Hope to check out the others later.
Recently extinct...
1 Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
2 Hadley Lake Limnetic Stickleback
3 Pearson's Hawthorn
4 Vancouver Island Wolverine
5 Fish Lake Pyrg
6 Maryland Darter
7 Bachman's Warbler
8 Dusky Seaside Sparrow
9 Banff Longnose Dace
10 Shortnose Cisco
And this is ONLY RECENT North American Extinions not world wide...
also, i now see...thanks for opening my eyes...a personal letter now does NOT indicate intent...hmmm
of course, even if true, ten "extinctions" of dubious nature do not a mass extinction make.
however, i must say bravo. i should have asked for a hundred or a thousand "extinct" species as this would have more closely approximated a "mass extinction".
nevermind the fact that these species may have died out (if that is indeed what has happened) with or without human intervention.
g'night everyone :)
G nite :)
The only way to effectively reduce CO2 emissions is to have across the board reductions from all parties and instead of 'dirty companies' being able to buy a CO2 credit. I think once they meet or go over their quota they should be shut down until their next term begins.
Seriously, what sense does it make to have a company go over their quotas and just buy a CO2 credit from a company that didn't. Nothing gets solved. The company that did well and didn't go over their quota is simply being paid to have someone else emit CO2 for them. There isn't any net reduction in CO2 emissions, unless all parties don't meet their CO2 quota, which is highly unlikely.
A Tropical Wave well organized moves off the coast of Africa, and quickly becomes a Tropical Depression. The Depression is forcasted to move completely out to sea and not effect any landmasses.
The tropical depression becomes a Tropical Storm and interacts with shear and doesn't strengthen. But then, the Tropical storm gets under the protection of an anticyclone, wind shear drops from 20 kts to 10 kts. The tropical Storm well away from land rapidly intensifies due to very high SST's, and TCHP to a category 1 Hurricane.
The Hurricane then undergoes explosive Deepening, dropping 60 MB's, from 988 MB to 928 in the total of 24 hours. Thousands of miles away from any landmasses, the Hurricane reaches Category 5 status. The explosive deepening continues with a very classical shape of a hurricane and a very large eye.
the pressure drops 34 more Millibars the next day to 894 MBs.
The Hurricane later that day depends to 880 MB with winds of 195 MPHs, well away from shipping and land. The hurricane maintains Category 5 status through the night and then undergoes an EWRC.
The Hurricane then again intensifies to Category 5 status well away from land, this time to only 937 MB's and winds of 160 Mph. The Hurricane encounters 50 kt wind shear from the jetstream and quickly weakens to Category 1 status, then goes extra tropical without effecting any landmasses.
Thats the best type of Hurricane, extremely powerful, no effecting of land masses. You can observe the beauty of a Hurricane without fearing for other peoples life's.
Link
as far as "living green", i would absolutely love to generate my own electricity from wind and solar, but the truth of the matter is that those technologies are not advanced enough to provide power on a daily basis without expensive, unreliable battery systems to store the energy. i really believe that if you want to make the leap to wind/solar, battery technology must be significantly improved.
as far as "better insulated houses go", most people i know live in those types of houses. however, one must understand that insulation merely slows the transfer for heat from one point to another...it does not prevent the transfer. even the most "efficient" houses i've seen still require a fair amount of power to operate normally.
have you ever done an actual cost-to-benefit on those appliances you speak so highly of or are you taking the label at its word? why do you assume everyone drives fuel inefficient cars? besides, isn't that their freedom in this country (at least as of today)? if they choose to drive a larger, more comfortable car at the cost of fuel efficiency, who are you to judge?
finally, Hanson is a hack that uses his stature to perpetually fund his charade. if you've ever actually looked at the raw data and then compared that to his "data adjustments" with an open mind, you'd understand.
Dodo
Tasmanian Tiger
A few species of Tiger and Manatee(i don't know specificly)
Carrier Pidgin
Panama Golden Frog
Ibex
Painted Frog
Japanese Wolf
Arabian Ostrich
Caribbean Monk Seal
Vegas Vally Leopard frog
A few Species of frog called Coqui
Great Auk
I'm fairly certain that thousands of species go extinct every year that we never hear about.
... --- ...
just like you,there is only one of me.
You may have to turn the volume up on this link to hear it...Happy New Year!!!
What about the 5 kids that went too far out in the surf zone and was dragged out to sea and drowned by a rip current...
DOH!
by the way, how much time must pass after the distinction of "extinct" on a species must pass before it is "confirmed"?
your welcome :)
If you can do so much, then I dare you to solve the global warming issue. What is more, this generation is more corrupt than the previous ones.
A more inconvenient life is inevitable!
If you disagree with me, just prove me wrong!
2.6 2009/01/02 17:23:22 44.669N 110.163W 1.0 43 km (26 mi) SSW of Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT
2.7 2009/01/02 13:33:53 44.553N 110.338W 0.9 61 km (38 mi) SSW of Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT
2.2 2009/01/02 13:24:50 44.509N 110.371W 0.0 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.7 2009/01/02 13:23:57 44.556N 110.357W 1.3 60 km (37 mi) SSE of Gardiner, MT
1.4 2009/01/02 13:23:19 44.500N 110.301W 2.1 64 km (40 mi) SSW of Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT
3.1 2009/01/02 13:15:39 44.528N 110.366W 3.4 60 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.2 2009/01/02 12:40:53 44.549N 110.370W 0.2 60 km (37 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
1.2 2009/01/02 11:50:37 44.549N 110.364W 1.0 60 km (37 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.8 2009/01/02 11:48:21 44.551N 110.354W 0.6 61 km (38 mi) E of West Yellowstone, MT
3.5 2009/01/02 11:32:49 44.549N 110.357W 5.4 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
It's HansEN, with an E...E
I read some article the other day on a skeptic site that couldn't even get this guy's name right either.
It would help you case a little bit if you get the name right about the person you are complaining about...
Simple.
By reducing one's carbon footprint...
We're not talking about living in grass huts and using no hot water. But there is plenty of ways that one can live a more 'green' lifestyle.
I don't mean by buying carbon credits either.
It's about living within one's means. Growing a vegetable garden, buying locally whenever possible, driving a fuel efficient car, unplugging appliances that aren't being used and countless others.
LMAO! I agree he is...
Sullivan you are correct
However, Global warming is not our only issue here, it is the tip of the iceberg.
lol
please do not respond to any of my GW posts.
I want to forget about this, it has been stuck on my head all day.
Oooooh--eeee,
G.W. is a Mighty wide subject I reckon..
lol Patrap
I hope it doesent storm at JazzFest this year.
Im sure we have a Chart somewhere with specifics on that.
...its climatology locally with April
I'll check with the Missouri Almanac anyway though.
Wink,wink
historic edition of Festival
Scroll down to read the Weekend by Weekend Lineup
40th ANNIVERSARY
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL
PRESENTED BY SHELL
APRIL 24 - 26 (1st WEEKEND)Link
Tropical Disturbance Summary (0000z 03Jan)
===========================================
TROPICAL DEPRESSION (99W)
9.0°N 128.0°E - 25 knots 1008 hPa
reported as moving west slowly
Philippines Atmospherical Geophysical Astronomical Services and Administration
Tropical Disturbance Bulletin
=============================
At 2:00 a.m. PhST, The low pressure area was estimated based on satellite and surface data at 260 kms East of Surigao City 10.0°N 128.0°E.
Typhoon 2000 website = Tropical Cyclone Formation is possible within the next 12 to 24 hours along Leyte Gulf or Bohol Sea.
Said it before and I'll say it one more time. I am happy for you that you are saving money and happy with your changes, but if you think this will actually effect the CO2 concentration you are mistaken.
Volcanic Hazards of Yellowstone National Park
Potential Volcanic Hazards
Hidden underground, powerful volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal forces are continually reshaping the landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Evidence of these include numerous earthquakes (although not all are felt by humans), uplifting and subsidence of the ground surface. Eventually the unrest will culminate in a large earthquake or volcanic eruption.
A Interfermetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)
View of Yellowstone
Viewing: 451 - 501
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