209 mph wind gust recorded in California on Sunday
Talk about a windy Sunday in California.
While strong winds howled throughout the Golden State on Sunday, a 209 miles-per-hour (mph) gust was recorded atop Kirkwood Mountain in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. While the gust will undergo quality checks over the next few days, two National Weather Service offices reported it on Sunday.
That said, the National Weather Service office in Sacramento sprinkled doubt on the figure on Sunday night (read the bottom of the Twitter thread below).
After further review the 209 mph wind gust reported at Kirkwood seems less likely, as the station seems to have multiple errors including 92 percent relative humidity during the strong winds. Also the wind seem to have been unusually strong the past few days at this station.
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 9, 2020
If verified, this would become California’s strongest wind gust ever recorded, according to the Sacramento Bee. The current record is a 199 mph gust in Alpine Meadows from February 2017. More checks will go into the statistic this week.
Kirkwood now gusting 209 MPH! This could potentially be a new California state record wind speed if verified! https://t.co/WeWzntYjLt
— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) February 9, 2020
Here are some of the latest wind gust reports across the region. The highest observation on the list will require some further investigation! Gusty winds will continue into the night with breezy conditions likely to start off Monday morning. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/UkAdhu1NWm
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 9, 2020
Kirkwood Mountain Resort has several peaks topping 9,000 feet in elevation, making it wind-prone. Several other gusts on Sunday topped 150 mph at the station. The 209 mph observation site sits at 9,186 feet in elevation.
The resort closed on Sunday morning in response due to the strong winds.
https://twitter.com/KirkwoodMTN/status/1226579473438371840?s=20
It wasn’t just California’s high terrain feeling the impacts of the wind, however. Nearly 150,000 customers were without power as of Sunday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. Most of those power outages were clustered around the Bay Area, where a wind gust of 53 mph was recorded in Oakland and several 40-plus mph gusts were observed on Sunday.
Winds should taper somewhat overnight Sunday into Monday, although it will remain breezy across most of California on Monday and Tuesday.