While the rest of the northeast was experiencing damaging wind gusts around 50 mph on Monday, Mount Washington, NH took it to another level. A wind gust of 171 mph was recorded by the summit observatory at around 7 PM Monday.
Standing at 6,288 feet elevation, the observatory is famous for its fierce wind. In fact, Mount Washington held the record for the strongest wind gust on Earth for more than 60 years. On April 12, 1934, the wind speed reached 231 mph, which is still the record for the strongest gust in the northern and western hemispheres.
While not quite world record-breaking, the 171 mph reading on Tuesday set a February record for Mount Washington. It tops the old record of 166 mph, set back in 1972.
The summit is a popular tourist destination in the calmer months, but with gusts like the one on Monday, it continues to solidify its reputation of having the world’s worst weather!
