[at-l] Re: Grandfather Washington

[weathercarrot@hotmail.com (The Weathercarrot)]

Hi - you write:

>I am wondering if the average wind speed for Grandfather Mountain was 
>indeed 40+ MPH last month. That sounds more like the average of the daily 
>highs to me. <

Average daily high was 54.76 degrees (low was 40.1 - both being above 
average).

>I think you might be comparing apples and oranges.

For snowfall (and temp), I would agree. For Grandfather to beat Washington's 
April snow was definitely a rare event, requiring the former to be above 
normal while at the same time the latter being well below normal. That in 
itself made it noteworthy.

Regarding wind speed, I wouldn't go as far as calling it apples and oranges. 
I've made this monthly wind comparison for a while now, and I've noticed 
that Grandfather's monthly average has been within 5 mph of Washington's on 
many occasions (if not exceeding it). Also, hurricane wind speeds are 
reached during most months of the year, and often on several days of each 
month, with between five and ten days a year reaching more than 100 mph. In 
April 1997, they measured 198 mph - at a location that is about 700 vertical 
feet below the summit. The odds are very high that up on the peak at the 
same time, winds were gusting well over 200.

Here are the two web sites that have the April numbers. They'll be posted 
until the first few days of June.

http://users.vnet.net/srankin/wx/gfather.htm

http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/summary.html

Thanks for writing,

wc


>>----------------------
>>
>>Mt Washington April Snowfall: 5.9"
>>
>>Grandfather Mtn April Snowfall: 13.25
>>
>>-----------------
>>
>>Mt Washington April Average Wind Speed: 29.9 MPH
>>
>>Grandfather Mtn April Average Wind Speed: 42.47 MPH
>>
>>----------------
>>
>>Mt Washington Peak Gust: 113 MPH from the northwest (April 14)
>>
>>Grandfather Mtn Peak Gust: 126.5 MPH



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