Having been to the summit of Mt. Washington, NH on several occasions, it is with a bit of sadness that I report one of the longest-held records in the world of weather has been taken from Mt. Washington and passed to Barrow Island, Australia at the hands of a tropical cyclone.

The new world record wind gust actually occurred nearly 14 years ago as Tropical Cyclone Olivia made landfall on Barrow Island. However, a recent review and evaluation determined the Olivia gust surpassed the previous Mt. Washington gust by 23mph.

The previous record: 372kph (231mph) recorded at the Mt. Washington Observatory, April 12, 1934.

The new record: 408kph (254mph) recorded at Barrow Island, April 10, 1996.

More on the new record.

More on the Mt. Washington Observatory.

Source: Mt. Washington Observatory