Mount Washington recorded the coldest temperatures in the United States this past weekend, with wind chill bringing the mountain’s peak down to -108°F (~-78°C). According to FOX8, air temperature was recorded at a frigid -45°F, slightly warmer than the 6,288 foot peak’s record, but wind speeds reached above 120mph.
According to Weather Underground, Mount Washington held the world windspeed record up until 1996, when a windspeed of 253mph was recorded on Barrow Island in Australia. Mount Washington’s highest wind speed was recorded on April 12, 1934, when winds reached 231mph.
INSANE conditions on Mt Washington, NH. 120mph+ winds and -95°F wind chill. It is above the tropopause, meaning that these are stratospheric winds.
Footage from the summit live stream 2:30-2:40pm. #nhwx pic.twitter.com/OgDakbNn97
— Peter Forister ⚡️🌪️⚡️ (@forecaster25) February 3, 2023
Footage of the wind speed has been recorded by Mount Washington Observatory‘s mountaintop live cameras. You can check those out on their YouTube page. Part of me wishes I could experience this in person, feel what it’s really like. Part of me, however, is terrified by that thought. The footage looks like it comes from another planet!
Image Credit: Peter Forister via Twitter
