CrazyC83 wrote:I thought that was an official ASOS site that measured that gust? That would be in line with expected for a cat 3 landfall though.
The meteorologist tweeted that the 123-knot value adjusts to a standard (three-second) gust, not sustained wind, of ~91 knots at the standard 10-m elevation. This would imply peak sustained, 10-m winds of about 65 to 70 knots at the Naples Municipal Airport, which was inland and slightly to the west of the centre of the eye. Taking the location into account, the data would suggest a landfall intensity of ~90 to 95 knots. Perhaps that would account, in part, for the relatively minimal structural damage in Naples, besides strict construction codes. I wonder if the storm chaser's 97-knot value on Marco Island was also measured above the standard 10-m elevation. There wasn't much evidence of sustained Cat-4 winds on Big Pine Key, as a station in the eastern eyewall measured a top gust of only 104 knots, and reconnaissance closest to the landfall time, both SFMR and flight-level winds, averaged out to ~110 knots, even though the mission went through the northeastern quadrant. The 119-knot SFMR a few hours earlier, just before landfall, could have also been subject to shoaling. The swath of damage-derived gusts up to 139 knots on Big Pine Key, according to the NWS in Key West, was due to a mesovortex. Based on all evidence, Irma was probably 110 knots in the Keys and a high-end Category 2, ~90 to 95 knots, at its second landfall, on Marco Island.