Gambling with Wind

2014-10-10 19:27:00.000 – Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Last night as the winds continued to climb higher, we gathered around the Current Summit Conditions monitor in our living quarters and made bets as to what the highest gust would be within the next 12 hours. Andrew said 92mph, I guessed 94mph, Mike and Arielle both called 95mph, Ryan claimed 97mph, our volunteer Jill suspected 99mph, and our docent Larry was sure it’d gust to well over 100mph (unfortunately our other volunteer Amy was busy making the best curry I’ve ever consumed to hear that we were placing bets). Well, the results are in! It seems appropriate that our shift’s Staff Meteorologist and seasoned Weather Observer Ryan won! At about 10:30PM last night, we received a 97mph gust out of the northwest. Interestingly enough, this was the highest wind gust recorded on the summit since April 24 of this year, when we saw winds reach 106mph. Last night’s event also surpassed a 96mph gust noted on July 5th when the remnants of Hurricane Arthur danced along the coastline before heading out to sea. While we did not designate a prize for the winner, we were all thoroughly impressed with Ryan’s accuracy!

Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist