100+ MPH Winds Crack Plane Windshields

Extreme winds hit the Rockies yesterday. The Beatrice Daily Sun reports that two airlines reported that 18 plane windshields cracked during landing at Denver International Airport. Since these type of winds are not unheard of in Denver, the airlines say the windshield cracking is a bit of a mystery.

The article notes: "Colorado's highest recorded wind gust came in at 201 mph atop 14,259-foot Longs Peak in 1981. In 1971, the city of Boulder recorded a wind gust at 147 mph."

Here is a list of all gusts over 80 mph as reported by the NWS:

Logan Pass, MT: 128 mph
Near Avon, MT: 110 mph
Steamboat Springs, CO: 107 mph
Rocky Flats, CO: 101 mph
Chief Joseph Pass: 90 mph
Near Chico, MT: 87 mph
Laramie, WY: 83 mph
Carbon, MT: 82 mph
Stillwater, MT: 81 mph

Bad Hair Day in Denver - Feb. 16, 2007 - This four-picture combo shows the hair of different women being whipped by high winds during the noon hour on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, Friday, Feb. 16, 2007. A gust of wind was clocked at 103 mph near Golden, Colo., early Friday morning. (AP Photo/ Ed Andrieski)