Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Anemometers on standard masts give the figures used in weather records. The figure is taken from National Weather Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a records & extremes fact?

Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Official wind speeds are measured at ten metres

Anemometers on standard masts give the figures used in weather records Meteorological wind is defined at 10 metres above open ground, averaged over 10 minutes, so that readings from different sites can be compared. Cups or ultrasonic sensors count the passage of air, and gusts are recorded separately as a short burst rather than an average. A measurement taken at a different height can be adjusted to the standard using a formula for surface roughness. It sits in Mondo's records & extremes collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

National Weather Service

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Commonwealth Bay is recognised as the windiest place on EarthKatabatic winds regularly reach speeds exceeding 240 kilometres per hour Weather records are verified by a formal expert committeeThe WMO archive checks instruments, siting and calibration before accepting a figure Barrow Island recorded the fastest non-tornado wind gustTropical Cyclone Olivia generated a gust of 408 kilometres per hour The fastest wind ever measured in a tornado topped 480 km/hA Doppler radar on wheels sampled the Bridge Creek tornado in 1999 The heaviest hailstone on record weighed just over a kilogramIt fell in Bangladesh in 1986 and killed several people The longest lightning flash stretched 768 kilometresA single flash across the southern United States set the record in 2020

Tags: wind, measurement, weather

Official wind speeds are measured at ten metres: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Anemometers on standard masts give the figures used in weather records. The figure is taken from National Weather Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a records & extremes fact?: Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.