UPDATE 5:30 A.M. FEB. 10: The Sacramento office of the National Weather Service sent out a tweet last night putting into question the accuracy of the 209 mph wind gust reading near Lake Tahoe this weekend.
On Sunday the NWS Reno office said it could take months for state climatologists to verify the record.
Read the full tweet from the NWS Sacramento office below:
After further review the 209 mph wind gust reported at Kirkwood seems questionable. The station seems to have multiple errors including 92 percent relative humidity during the strong winds. Also the wind seems to have been unusually strong the past few days at this station #cawx
After further review the 209 mph wind gust reported at Kirkwood seems questionable. The station seems to have multiple errors including 92 percent relative humidity during the strong winds. Also the wind seems to have been unusually strong the past few days at this station #cawx
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 9, 2020
ORIGINAL STORY
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) -- A gust of 209 mph (336 kph) was recorded atop a California peak on Sunday, a potential record that wowed forecasters monitoring a cold storm moving south through the state.
The blast of wind was captured around 7:45 a.m. by an instrument at 9,186 feet (2,800 meters) on Kirkwood Mountain south of Lake Tahoe, said National Weather Service forecaster Alex Hoon.
He and his colleagues at the NWS office in Reno, Nevada watched in surprise as wind speeds across the crest of the Sierra Nevada hit 150 mph and kept rising.
“It went up and up,” Hoon said. It could take months for state climatologists to verify the record, he said.
9:30 AM: Dangerous high waves crashing into docks on west shore of Tahoe at Homewood. (image from Obexer's Marina web camera). https://t.co/MiGXHva06m
Stay safe and leave the lake alone today! pic.twitter.com/UKllOV5C2a
— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) February 9, 2020
“But the way that the winds did ramp up, it looks legitimate,” Hoon said. “It’s an exciting moment for sure.”
The previous record was a gust of 199 mph (320 kph) at Ward Mountain west of Lake Tahoe on Nov. 16, 2017.
The storm that caused widespread in flooding last week in Washington and Oregon brought a strong cold front to California, but not much rain or snow.
Waves topping 5 feet (1.5 meters) were recorded on Lake Tahoe, where air temperatures dipped below freezing.
The same system could bring light drizzle to the red carpet at the Academy Awards Sunday evening in Los Angeles.
Read on apnews.com.
