Muiricane

Wonder if there's still a roof at the shelter?
Check out those wind totals...
MM/DD Hour Temp RH Wind Wind Wind Wind Solar
PST F % Min Avg Max Dir W/m2
10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100'

---

2 12 2100 7 92 48 83 110 249 1
2 12 2000 12 94 59 83 102 248 1
2 12 1900 13 95 87 112 130 239 1
2 12 1800 14 95 97 112 124 240 3
2 12 1700 14 95 96 111 127 246 23
2 12 1600 16 96 83 120 141 246 23
2 12 1500 12 94 107 132 155 242 46
2 12 1400 14 95 105 128 152 242 87
2 12 1300 14 95 95 117 137 239 114
2 12 1200 13 94 96 114 135 237 92
2 12 1100 14 94 97 112 131 243 77
2 12 1000 14 84 91 103 114 247 80
2 12 900 14 77 90 102 114 245 29
2 12 800 15 76 85 100 113 244 8
2 12 700 15 76 85 98 114 239 1
2 12 600 16 77 73 93 108 242 1
2 12 500 16 61 75 95 109 240 1

---

2 12 400 18 71 67 94 116 244 1
2 12 300 18 68 88 106 122 243 0
2 12 200 18 73 83 104 126 244 0
2 12 100 17 69 73 94 114 248 0
2 12 0 19

WOW! The minimum was a bad day in the mountains and the max is staggering at 155 mpg.

That's wild, so it was like a class 3 hurricane for most of the day up there! Certainly looked windy from Snoqualmie:

Wowzers! Thanks for the post. Cool picture Fresh.

120mph at Mission yesterday. Is 155mph a new record?

Very cool pic! Wicked

I was going to post this, too. Ka Ra Zeee! Can a man stand, hold onto the ground in that?

Can anybody do the math on the wind chill at 155mph and 12 degrees?

Can anybody do the math on the wind chill at 155mph and 12 degrees?

Loose calculation here: (12 degrees F-32)/1.8 = -11 C * 155 mph wind = freakin cold!

Can anybody do the math on the wind chill at 155mph and 12 degrees?

It's actually -25. According to NOAA, Wind speeds above 40 mph have little additional chilling affect.
I would think that if I was not rolling like tumbleweed across the snowfield, I would get a pretty good wind burn or sandblasting of pellets.

Nice picture Fresh!

120mph at Mission yesterday. Is 155mph a new record?

I spent some time looking through the archived NWAC data today. As far as I can find, the 155 mph gust is the highest wind speed recorded at Camp Muir since that site was installed in September 2006, and also the highest wind recorded at any NWAC site over the full period of data. The previous highest was recorded at Mission Ridge, which reached 137 mph in January 2007 ( see this old thread for discussion on that event and previous Mission Ridge winds over 100 mph).

A list of days with winds over 100 mph at the Muir telemetry site:

06Sep2006: Muir station installed
06Nov2006: 121 mph (16" of rain in 48 hrs at Paradise, park flooded and closed until May)
29Apr2007: 125 mph
30Apr2007: 100 mph

12Nov2007: 119 mph
26Nov2007: 117 mph
02Dec2007: 111 mph
29Feb2008: 109 mph
03Mar2008: 100 mph
23Mar2008: 131 mph (avg 109 mph)

data missing for most of Oct-Nov-Dec 2008
27Jan2009: 110 mph
07Mar2009: 108 mph
15Mar2009: 126 mph
04May2009: 113 mph

17Oct2009: 106 mph
11Mar2010: 101 mph
20Mar2010: 106 mph
28Mar2010: 100 mph
19May2010: 113 mph

15Nov2010: 111 mph
12Jan2011: 109 mph
07Feb2011: 116 mph
11Feb2011: 109 mph
12Feb2011: 155 mph (avg 132 mph, min 107 mph)

There are large amounts of missing wind data at Muir, often for days or weeks at a time, due to the anemometer riming up and freezing solid, and also due to occasional communications problems. Nevertheless, the February 11-12 wind event is clearly exceptional in both magnitude and duration, far beyond any previous storm recorded in the data. Maximum gusts over 100 mph for 27 consecutive hours, average winds over 100 mph for 12 consecutive hours, and sustained winds never dropping below 105 mph for the 2 hour peak.

Here's the complete set of Muir data during this 2-day wind event:

Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center
Camp Muir, Mt Rainier National Park, Washington
Data also courtesy Mt Rainier National Park

Wind sensors unheated and may rime

  MM/DD   Hour   Temp     RH   Wind   Wind   Wind   Wind  Solar
           PST      F      %    Min    Avg    Max    Dir   W/m2
               10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100'

---

   2 11      0     22     48      1      5     22    254      0
   2 11    100     23     34      4     18     36    255      0
   2 11    200     22     45     16     29     41    250      0
   2 11    300     22     38     19     32     48    250      0
   2 11    400     21     28     28     46     62    243      0
   2 11    500     19     51     32     53     71    247      0
   2 11    600     18     31     48     63     87    249      0
   2 11    700     18     40     43     67     85    250      0
   2 11    800     17     60     57     74     85    243     17
   2 11    900     17     49     68     79     91    242    122
   2 11   1000     18     49     69     82     97    247    245
   2 11   1100     18     33     65     81     95    247    316
   2 11   1200     19     27     44     77    104    245    322
   2 11   1300     19     93     28     65     83    251    311
   2 11   1400     20     91     42     70     85    248    283
   2 11   1500     18     87     47     71     87    246    197
   2 11   1600     17     92     53     71     87    249    108
   2 11   1700     18     95     48     76     92    249     40
   2 11   1800     19     96     51     76     95    249      4
   2 11   1900     19     96     54     77     93    250      1
   2 11   2000     19     91     57     83    100    245      0
   2 11   2100     20     81     70     85    109    244      1
   2 11   2200     20     80     62     83    101    242      0
   2 11   2300     20     31     68     84    103    245      1
   2 12      0     19     44     58     83    100    243      0
   2 12    100     17     69     73     94    114    248      0
   2 12    200     18     73     83    104    126    244      0
   2 12    300     18     68     88    106    122    243      0
   2 12    400     18     71     67     94    116    244      1
   2 12    500     16     61     75     95    109    240      1
   2 12    600     16     77     73     93    108    242      1
   2 12    700     15     76     85     98    114    239      1
   2 12    800     15     76     85    100    113    244      8
   2 12    900     14     77     90    102    114    245     29
   2 12   1000     14     84     91    103    114    247     80
   2 12   1100     14     94     97    112    131    243     77
   2 12   1200     13     94     96    114    135    237     92
   2 12   1300     14     95     95    117    137    239    114
   2 12   1400     14     95    105    128    152    242     87
   2 12   1500     12     94    107    132    155    242     46
   2 12   1600     16     96     83    120    141    246     23
   2 12   1700     14     95     96    111    127    246     23
   2 12   1800     14     95     97    112    124    240      3
   2 12   1900     13     95     87    112    130    239      1
   2 12   2000     12     94     59     83    102    248      1
   2 12   2100      7     92     48     83    110    249      1
   2 12   2200      5     92     41     80    104    247      1
   2 12   2300      4     91     25     53     85    242      0
   2 13      0      4     91     14     50     76    241      0
   2 13    100      4     91     57     72     83    237      1
   2 13    200      4     91     37     58     77    234      0
   2 13    300      4     91     23     48     66    237      0
   2 13    400      3     91     12     34     51    249      0
   2 13    500     12     94      8     23     38    251      0
   2 13    600     15     94      4     11     23    276      0

---

P.S. Here's a list of days with winds over 100 mph at Mission Ridge, since the January 2007 maximum in that older thread :

12Nov2007: 105 mph
03Dec2007: 100 mph
21Jan2008: 105 mph
07Feb2008: 116 mph
08Feb2008: 112 mph

31Dec2008: 103 mph
06Jan2009: 121 mph

15Jan2010:  93 mph (no winds over 100 mph in the entire 2009-10 season)

15Nov2010: 105 mph
12Jan2011: 101 mph
13Jan2011: 105 mph
16Jan2011: 100 mph
17Jan2011: 119 mph
04Feb2011: 104 mph
06Feb2011: 100 mph
12Feb2011: 120 mph

[size=small](Edited for a few minor fixes.)[/size]

you have any idea the specs on the specific instrument the NWAC uses for this station? in 150+ mph within its calibrated ability? i guess aka, how reliable are the numbers even before it breaks 3 digits?

good stuff though, would love to see some footage up there from 2 12 1500!

Surprisingly, the upper mountain (up to about 12000 ft) remained in view from Paradise during much of the peak wind period. These three webcam images were captured at 1350, 1400, and 1410 on 12Feb2011, when the wind was continuously above 105 mph and gusted over 150 mph (the clouds fully obscured the view shortly afterwards):






I've often been curious about the anemometers used at NWAC sites, too, including their calibration and whether any altitude (air density) correction is required. Perhaps Mark or Garth from NWAC can answer? (maybe I should email them).

Lots of great extreme wind/anemometer info on the Mt. Washington observatory site: www.mountwashington.org/about/visitor/recordwind.php.

The summit station there holds the record for highest recorded surface gust at 231 mph. Unreal.

The wind gauges we use at the NWAC are manufactured by a small local company called Taylor Scientific. Here are photos from the St Helens station. I believe they are fairly accurate for the speeds measured recently at Muir but I'll ask Mark when I see him as I think there are specs available.

First photo is anemometer (wind speed) and second photo is wind vane ( wind direction).

I guess I should add the the half circle shaped cups on the anemometer cause the upper part of the anemometer to spin which generates a voltage which is measured by the station datalogger. And that the fin or tail on the vane rotates the upper part of the vane to point into the wind which allows a certain voltage to pass through the vane and be measured by the station datalogger.

It looks like most of Feb. 12 is missing on all of the 10 day telemetry.

2 14 400 14 94 48 57 66 276 1
2 14 300 13 95 49 61 71 276 1
2 14 200 15 94 50 58 65 276 0
2 14 100 15 94 55 59 67 276 0
2 14 0 14 93 50 61 68 276 0
2 13 2300 11 93 52 64 72 276 0
2 13 2200 17 93 44 52 63 276 1
2 13 2100 17 95 42 48 56 276 1
2 13 2000 18 96 37 45 53 276 1
2 13 1900 18 96 38 45 53 276 1
2 13 1800 20 97 41 61 75 266 7
2 13 1700 17 90 50 62 72 247 77
2 13 1600 15 44 0 35 72 251 214
2 13 1500 18 13 0 2 36 250 273
2 13 1400 16 23 0 26 50 245 415
2 13 1300 24 10 28 44 63 251 580
2 13 1200 24 11 35 53 72 246 627
2 13 1100 22 15 21 46 65 247 499
2 13 1000 21 12 20 38 53 248 350
2 13 900 19 17 20 31 49 253 183
2 13 800 17 29 18 31 49 250 30
2 13 700 17 39 12 22 36 253 0
2 13 600 15 94 4 11 23 276 0
2 13 500 12 94 8 23 38 251 0

---

2 12 400 18 71 67 94 116 244 1
2 12 300 18 68 88 106 122 243 0
2 12 200 18 73 83 104 126 244 0
2 12 100 17 69 73 94 114 248 0
2 12 0 19 44 58 83 100 243 0
2 11 2300 20 31 68 84 103 245 1
2 11 2200 20 80 62 83 101 242 0
2 11 2100 20 81 70 85 109 244 1
2 11 2000 19 91 57 83 100 245 0
2 11 1900 19 96 54 77 93 250 1
2 11 1800 19 96 51 76 95 249 4
2 11 1700 18 95 48 76 92 249 40
2 11 1600 17 92 53 71 87 249 108
2 11 1500 18 87 47 71 87 246 197
2 11 1400 20 91 42 70 85 248 283
2 11 1300 19 93 28 65 83 251 311
2 11 1200 19 27 44 77 104 245 322
2 11 1100 18 33 65 81 95 247 316
2 11 1000 18 49 69 82 97 247 245
2 11 900 17 49 68 79 91 242 122
2 11 800 17 60 57 74 85 243 17
2 11 700 18 40 43 67 85 250 0
2 11 600 18 31 48 63 87 249 0
2 11 500 19 51 32 53 71 247 0

I got to 14k on Rainier on a bluebird day in February a few years ago. Not a cloud in the sky. It got windier and windier above Gib Rock and at 14k I was lifted off the ground and thrown 20+ feet. At that point it was blowing too hard to stand up and we reverse-front pointed back to Gib Rock. The wind was coming out of the north and as soon was we dropped below Camp Comfort, it was calm...and even warm. But we both had large amounts of ice on our faces, eyebrows, etc. I had blistered windburns on my wrists.

And not a wisp of cloud or lenticular. I don't know how hard it was blowing, but I must have totalled around 200 pounds with boots, pons, and gear.

I've also heard that the BBQ grill that used to be at Schurman broke a chain tether and blew away in strong winds years ago.

Well, it's been blowing over 100 mph at Muir again, much of the day Sunday and continuing intermittently through Monday into Tuesday, March 1. Monday's maximum gust of 137 mph makes that day the 2nd windiest on record, since the station was installed in 2006.

Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center
Camp Muir, Mt Rainier National Park, Washington
Data also courtesy Mt Rainier National Park

Wind sensors unheated and may rime

  MM/DD   Hour   Temp     RH   Wind   Wind   Wind   Wind  Solar
           PST      F      %    Min    Avg    Max    Dir   W/m2
               10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100'

---

   2 27      0      4     67     15     39     70    359      0
   2 27    100      3     89     21     40     58    359      0
   2 27    200      3     90     26     56     80    359      0
   2 27    300      4     90     48     68     86    359      0
   2 27    400      3     90     60     73     90    359      0
   2 27    500      3     90     37     63     82    359      0
   2 27    600      4     90     33     63     81    359      0
   2 27    700      4     90     55     69     86    359      3
   2 27    800      5     90     50     71     90    359     66
   2 27    900      5     91     63     77     91    359    178
   2 27   1000      5     90     54     81     98    359    277
   2 27   1100      5     90     64     83    100    359    324
   2 27   1200      5     91     73     86    103    359    243
   2 27   1300      5     90     75     90    101    359    259
   2 27   1400      5     90     73     96    110    359    292
   2 27   1500      4     90     79     96    111    359    198
   2 27   1600      4     90     72     94    119    359    120
   2 27   1700      5     90     80    101    120    359     46
   2 27   1800      5     91     84    102    116    359     10
   2 27   1900      5     91     85    102    128    359      0
   2 27   2000      5     91     86    102    115    359      0
   2 27   2100      6     91     85    103    112    359      0
   2 27   2200      5     91     84    102    116    359      0
   2 27   2300      5     91     92    107    128    359      0
   2 28      0      6     91     79    104    124    359      0
   2 28    100      6     91     94    112    137    359      0
   2 28    200      5     91     88    106    131    359      0
   2 28    300      5     91     84    103    127    359      0
   2 28    400      4     90     62     87     97    359      0
   2 28    500      3     90     49     78    102    359      0
   2 28    600      2     89     36     59     78    359      0
   2 28    700      2     90     50     70     89    359      2
   2 28    800      1     89     40     67     97    359     38
   2 28    900      1     89     37     67     94    359    113
   2 28   1000      0     89     36     60     85    359    208
   2 28   1100      1     89     34     72     96    359    271
   2 28   1200      1     88     42     65     88    359    312
   2 28   1300      2     90     40     69     97    359    312
   2 28   1400      2     89     36     71     98    359    310
   2 28   1500      3     90     43     63     92    359    279
   2 28   1600      1     89     37     75    118    359    172
   2 28   1700      2     89     39     67     92    359     85
   2 28   1800      2     88     54     78     95    359     16
   2 28   1900      0     89     51     78    109    359      0
   2 28   2000      2     89     55     89    111    359      0
   2 28   2100      2     89     62     82    105    359      0
   2 28   2200      3     90     62     83     99    359      0
   2 28   2300      2     89     63     82    102    359      0
    3 1      0      4     90     60     78     98    359      0
    3 1    100      4     91     60     83    105    359      0
    3 1    200      3     90     67     91    110    359      0
    3 1    300      4     90     62     82    118    359      0
    3 1    400      5     91     52     75     97    359      0
    3 1    500      7     91     42     69     91    359      0
    3 1    600     10     92     40     79    101    359      0
    3 1    700     11     93     68     91    107    359      2
3 1 800 9 92 73 91 111 359 36
3 1 900 9 92 67 76 83 359 103
3 1 1000 10 92 55 69 77 359 159
3 1 1100 11 92 58 67 74 359 216



Here's an updated list of days with winds over 100 mph at the Muir telemetry site:

06Sep2006: Muir station installed
06Nov2006: 121 mph (16" of rain in 48 hrs at Paradise, park flooded and closed until May)
29Apr2007: 125 mph
30Apr2007: 100 mph

12Nov2007: 119 mph
26Nov2007: 117 mph
02Dec2007: 111 mph
29Feb2008: 109 mph
03Mar2008: 100 mph
23Mar2008: 131 mph (avg 109 mph)

data missing for most of Oct-Nov-Dec 2008
27Jan2009: 110 mph
07Mar2009: 108 mph
15Mar2009: 126 mph
04May2009: 113 mph

17Oct2009: 106 mph
11Mar2010: 101 mph
20Mar2010: 106 mph
28Mar2010: 100 mph
19May2010: 113 mph

15Nov2010: 111 mph
12Jan2011: 109 mph
07Feb2011: 116 mph
11Feb2011: 109 mph
12Feb2011: 155 mph (avg 132 mph, min 107 mph)
22Feb2011: 109 mph
27Feb2011: 128 mph
28Feb2011: 137 mph (avg 112 mph)
01Mar2011: 118 mph


[size=small](Edited several times to add more wind data for Monday, Tuesday.)[/size]

Pretty amazing how many hours in a row that the wind gusts exceeded 100mph. Usually these wind events last just an hour or two with strong frontal passage.

I recall some very strong winds one winter a few years back at White Pass with about three different wind events exceeding 100mph and one perhaps in the mid 130's. I am pretty sure at that time it never hit 155 mph.

The most amazing wind damage I ever saw was on the trail from Carbon River cg towards Spray Park in 1982. About a quarter of a mile of the trail was covered with old growth downfall, the biggest pile of which was nearly 30' tall. I guessed that must have been a 180mph gust or so and was probably caused by the freakish convergence of two outburst flows. There was a cyclonic distribution of the downfall.

The forecast now calls for even higher winds on Wednesday, March 2, with predicted free air winds of 90 mph at 10000 ft and and 120 mph at 14000 ft -- the latter is among the highest wind that I can ever recall seeing in the NWS Rainier forecast:

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
428 AM PST TUE MAR 1 2011

SYNOPSIS...A WARM FRONT WILL BRING SNOW TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY NIGHT. A COLD FRONT WILL BRING MORE SNOW AND WIND WEDNESDAY. THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL STAY ACTIVE THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS ADDITIONAL FRONTS MOVE THROUGH. SUNDAY AND MONDAY WILL SEE A BREAK IN THE ACTIVE WEATHER AS THE STORM TRACK SHIFTS SOUTH.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM PST WEDNESDAY...

TUESDAY...SNOW SHOWERS THIS MORNING. RAIN OR SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVEL 1500 FEET. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 6 INCHES.
TUESDAY NIGHT...SNOW AND RAIN. SNOW LEVEL 3000 FEET. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 10 INCHES.
WEDNESDAY...SNOW AND RAIN. WINDY. SNOW LEVEL 3000 FEET. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 8 INCHES.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 1500 FEET.
THURSDAY...SNOW SHOWERS.

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                       TUE    TUE    WED    WED    THU
                            NIGHT         NIGHT

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)     -1      1     -8    -14    -13
                    SW 100 SW 110 SW 120  SW 90  SW 60

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)      6     18      7      3      3
                     SW 75   S 75  SW 90  SW 60  SW 40

PARADISE  (5420 FT)     30     23     29     18     27
                     SW 10  SE 10   S 20   S 15   S  5

LONGMIRE  (2700 FT)     33     29     34     28     33
                      CALM   CALM   S 10   CALM   CALM

++ TEMPERATURES AND WIND FOR THE SUMMIT AND CAMP MUIR ARE AVERAGE
   CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE FREE AIR AT THOSE ELEVATIONS.

The cause of the high winds? An impressive-looking low pressure system, forecast to rapidly strengthen and head NE towards Vancouver Island. This image from the UW model (www.atmos.washington.edu/mm5rt/) shows expected pressure (i.e. geopotential height), temperature, and winds on the 700 millibar pressure surface (at roughly 10000 ft elevation) on Wednesday morning:


84-hour Loop: www.atmos.washington.edu/~ovens/loops/wx...00t+2011030112//84/3


The actual measured wind at Camp Muir is often much higher than the free air wind, as much as 50% higher or more, due to the wind accelerating as it flows above and around the massive bulk of Mount Rainier. Here is the wind portion of the forecast during the 137 mph event:

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
415 AM PST MON FEB 28 2011

                       MON    MON    TUE    TUE    WED 
                            NIGHT         NIGHT       

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)    -11     -8     -2      3     -6
                    SW 100  SW 89  SW 68  SW 47  SW 76

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)      2      3     11     17      9
                      W 95  SW 35  SW 41  SW 53  SW 62

and during the earlier 155 mph event:

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
400 AM PST SAT FEB 12 2011

                       SAT    SAT    SUN    SUN    MON 
                            NIGHT         NIGHT       

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)      7      3      6      4      3
                    SW 100   W 80  SW 50  SW 60  SW 70

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)     21     14     20     21     18
                    SW 100   W 60  SW 40  SW 45  SW 60

Both times, average measured winds at Muir exceeded the predicted free-air values for several hours, and peak gusts were about 20% above the average winds.

Interesting info in this thread. It's hard not to be reminded of puny little Mt Washington in NH. Just checked the latest from their summit observatory, and I see that they are experiencing fairly typical mid-winter gusts of 100MPH. ( www.mountwashington.org/weather/conditions.php ). Their highest-recorded windspeed was 231MPH.

Check out the telemetry for Mt. Baker this morning with a wind gust to 116 mph. Baker's telemetry is not particularly great for showing winds aloft and was only in the low 50's max during the wind events of 2/27 to 3/1 at Muir.

The 116 mph gust today is by far the highest recorded at the Mt Baker Ski Area telemetry site, since the wind data was added in January 2008.

Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center
Mt Baker Ski Area, Washington

Wind sensors unheated and may rime
Precip gage appears to be under-recording 2-27-2011

MM/DD  Hour  Temp  Temp    RH    RH  Wind  Wind  Wind  Wind  Hour Total 24 Hr Total
         PST     F     F     %     %   Min   Avg   Max   Dir Prec. Prec.  Snow  Snow
             5000' 4210' 5000' 4210' 5000' 5000' 5000' 5000' 4210' 4210' 4210' 4210'

---

   3 2   700    29    32   100   100     6    20    46   188  0.04  0.22     0   174
   3 2   800    30    33   100   100     5    26    46   194  0.04  0.26     0   174
   3 2   900    31    33   100    99     8    31    62   149  0.08  0.34     1   174
   3 2  1000    28    32   100   100    17    64   116   164  0.05  0.39    45   174
   3 2  1100    26    29   100    99    23    60   111   207  0.03  0.42    45   174
   3 2  1200    26    29   100    97    20    43    73   179  0.02  0.44    45   173
   3 2  1300    26    29   100    97    11    33    73   197  0.05  0.49    45   174
   3 2  1400    26    29   100    98    12    35    80   207  0.03  0.52    45   174
   3 2  1500    24    28   100    92    16    39    67   188  0.01  0.53  -389   174
   3 2  1600    23    27   100    89    14    37    65   191  0.00  0.53  -405   173
   3 2  1700    22    26   100    93    14    36    59   157  0.00  0.53  -385   173
   3 2  1800    21    24   100    93     9    28    56   181  0.01  0.54  -369   173


Here's a list of days with winds over 80 mph at the Mt Baker Ski Area site:

09Jan2008: wind data at 5000' added to telemetry

02Mar2009:  89 mph

05Nov2009: 103 mph
17Nov2009:  88 mph
16Mar2010:  81 mph

12Feb2011:  92 mph
14Feb2011:  94 mph
02Mar2011: 116 mph



The maximum gust of 98 mph at Hurricane Ridge today ties the highest recorded since the 2004-5 season. Note that this telemetry site was moved in the summer of 2007, gaining elevation from 5150 ft to 5260 ft.

Here's a list of days with winds over 80 mph at the Hurricane Ridge sites since the 2004-5 season:

15Nov2004:  98 mph

01Jan2006:  83 mph
04Jan2006:  82 mph
04Feb2006:  83 mph

19Nov2006:  79 mph

summer2007: site moved

12Nov2007:  89 mph
03Dec2007:  86 mph

no winds over 68 mph during 2008-2009 season

11Jan2010:  82 mph
15Jan2010:  81 mph
18Jan2010:  87 mph
19May2010:  83 mph

01Nov2010:  81 mph
24Dec2010:  81 mph
02Mar2011:  98 mph



Winds also hit 90 mph at Mission Ridge (nothing special at this site, which often exceeds 100 mph) and 80 mph at Crystal Mtn, which has been exceeded many times over the past 2 winters. Winds over 80 mph were very uncommon at Crystal though during the previous 5 winters.

Here's a list of days with winds over 80 mph at the Crystal Mountain Ski Area site since the 2004-5 season:

no winds over 72 mph during 2004-2005 season

no winds over 75 mph during 2005-2006 season

13Nov2006:  84 mph
15Dec2006:  85 mph
09Jan2007:  86 mph

03Dec2007:  90 mph

04Jan2009:  81 mph

05Nov2009:  94 mph
09Nov2009: 102 mph
16Nov2009: 115 mph
18Nov2009:  80 mph
19Nov2009:  98 mph
20Nov2009: 107 mph
22Nov2009:  95 mph
06Dec2009:  91 mph
15Jan2010:  83 mph
17Jan2010:  98 mph
18Jan2010: 113 mph
19Jan2010:  96 mph
12Mar2010:  85 mph
29Mar2010:  92 mph
19May2010:  83 mph

15Nov2010:  83 mph
07Dec2010:  89 mph
12Dec2010:  86 mph
14Dec2010:  88 mph
18Dec2010:  91 mph
12Jan2011:  86 mph
16Jan2011:  83 mph
07Feb2011:  84 mph
12Feb2011:  88 mph
28Feb2011:  88 mph
02Mar2011:  80 mph



So what about Camp Muir?  The NWS revised their predicted winds for Wednesday downward significantly since the morning of March 1:

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
428 AM PST TUE MAR 1 2011

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                       TUE    TUE    WED    WED    THU 
                            NIGHT         NIGHT       

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)     -1      1     -8    -14    -13
                    SW 100 SW 110 SW 120  SW 90  SW 60

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)      6     18      7      3      3
                     SW 75   S 75  SW 90  SW 60  SW 40

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
251 PM PST TUE MAR 1 2011

                       TUE    WED    WED    THU 
                     NIGHT         NIGHT       

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)      4     -7    -12    -14
                     SW 57  SW 78  SW 56  SW 44

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)     19      7      4      5
                      S 51  SW 54  SW 43  SW 32

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
407 AM PST WED MAR 2 2011

                       WED    WED    THU    THU    FRI 
                            NIGHT         NIGHT       

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)     -6    -12    -12     -9     -3
                     SW 83  SW 48  SW 32   W 42  SW 39

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)      7      4      7      7     12
                      SW 60  SW 35  SW 29   W 26  SW 39

And the actual winds at Muir turned out to be a TOTAL disappointment, only reaching 56 mph, which is pathetic compared to the numerous 100+ mph events. That value seems way too low (especially considering that Paradise reached 43 mph), and it could perhaps be a sign of partial riming of the anemometer which prevented recording a true value.

Muir?  The NWS revised their predicted winds for Wednesday downward significantly since the morning of March 1:
And the actual winds at Muir turned out to be a TOTAL disappointment, only reaching 56 mph, which is pathetic compared to the numerous 100+ mph events. That value seems way too low (especially considering that Paradise reached 43 mph), and it could perhaps be a sign of partial riming of the anemometer which prevented recording a true value.

I had the same thought about rime-caused friction on the anenometer when I saw the telemetry for Muir. It seemed to have trouble getting above 50 mph and was nearly the same for a few hours around the time of the peak winds.

Don't give up on Mission Ridge yet, they are still in the running with a nice 134 mph gust on 3/10: www.nwac.us/weatherdata/missionridge/10day/

Don't give up on Mission Ridge yet, they are still in the running with a nice 134 mph gust on 3/10: www.nwac.us/weatherdata/missionridge/10day/

The effects of the wind observed at mission ridge today were amazing. Really cool sastrugi, huge difts(8-10') in some spots, very large cornices and a cat track that I had skied on at around 1330 yesterday was completely gone, what had once been a cat track on a steep hillside was now just a steep slope. The uphill cut on the cat track was probably 10-15' the day before.

Aaaaahhhhh....spring, a nice, soothing northerly freshet this morning. Rainier, Baker, Alpental, and especially Mission and Crystal: www.nwac.us/weatherdata/crystalskiarea/10day/

Glad I didn't get out there today, afterall. None of my partners were up for an "adventure". So much for the 4th aspect until snows return.