Hurricane Irene was expected to make landfall with wind speeds between 105 and 115 mph (it got up to about 80 mph). It’s pretty safe to say it was a bad hair weekend on the east coast. Here’s a comparison of windy things (and places) to put it in perspective.
Typical Hurricane: 100-150 mph
Hurricane Irene: 105 mph (a Category 2 Hurricane at time of writing)
Your Hair Dryer: 26.8 mph – 39.2mph
Highest Recorded Wind Speed: 231 miles per hour at Mount Washington in April 1934
Windiest Place in World: Port Martin, Antarctica, with yearly average windspeed of 40mph
Windiest Storms: Tornados; recording speeds of 300 mph
Wind creation: Wind is caused by differences in pressure. It’s the acceleration of air from higher to lower pressure.
Stay safe, everyone! Be prepared with this useful information from The Weather Channel via Yahoo Shine.
