STORM2K

0308 UTC/May 9th 2003
103 MPH
WHITEMAN AFB
JOHNSON County MO
3871 9355
WIND SENSOR MEASUREMENT AT AIR BASE. (EAX)

:o That's one of the highest I've seen (besides the Santa Ana gusts I experienced when I lived in a canyon, which hit 105-110 MPH at times - THAT scared me :o )

115+ mph wind gusts and the record for thunderstorm gusts here in AZ is 120mph at Gila Bend on August 14,1996. Whiteman AFB (home to the B-2's) is where I had my first forecasting assignment 41 years ago. The base was originally home to B-47's and has a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG
runway some 13,400 ft in length-only old Cannon AFB near Clovis NM has a longer paved runway in the Air Force at 13,600 ft. If you look at the observations that were sent out, you will not see the 103 mph gust. This is because the north end sensors were being used for the observations since that was the approach end of the active runway. However, since the people in the Tower and the weather station were acutely aware of the spotter reports and warnings that placed a tornado in close proximity to the SW corner of the Base, they were obviously monitoring the S end sensors as well. The wind gust was either a brushby from the tornado or was associated with the meso as it passed by. Unless there have been some drastic changes very recently, the area south of the base has a very small population so any tornado running just south of the Base might not have done much. The winds, though, probably scared the people living in the Base Housing area on the Hill in the SW portion of the Base.

Steve

I've seen a report from Minnesota with wind gusts up to 180 mph a while back (also mentioned in a Weather Channel Calendar as well I have here from thunderstorm winds)

The North Carolina Tornadocane in April 1998 was responsible for a wind sensor report from Trenton, NC of 165 MPH.

Wow! That is just west of Sedalia, where I used to live.