UPDATE FRIDAY MORNING: It's nasty out there, folks. There are literally so many wind reports that I can't present them all here. I have moved gusts under 80 mph to an "honorable mention" list below. New reports are indicated by a double asterisk.

After reporting a 408 mph wind gust last night, I'm starting to wonder about the accuracy of the Snowslip report.

Horrific reports are coming in from spotters with NWS [JessePedia]:

wind1215as

SUSTAINED 1-MINUTE WINDS OVERNIGHT

To quote our Breaking Weather News Page (PREMIUM | PRO):

CNN says that 1.5 million people were without power at the peak of the storm.

uf1214a

UPDATE THURSDAY EVENING: The NWS is also investigating the 164 mph gust, but they have data showing 71 mph sustained winds, so the gust may in fact be valid. They say that they have no reason to doubt it until they talk further with the observer. Further updates will be posted to this page. I have also added several wind gusts, as high as 92 mph, to the list below.

UPDATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON: FoxNews is showing footage of a jetliner attempting to land, rocked by high winds in Seattle. It's pretty incredible video. I was not able to find news about it. They are also showing a huge crane swinging in circles in downtown Seattle, also terrifying. KIRO-TV has the video, and says: The operations manager for Turner Construction, Scott Holbrook, said the crane is designed to "weathervane" when winds exceed 30 mph. (To which I say, yeah, but what's it do at 130?) The crane... started making complete revolutions, and chains hanging from it swung into a nearby building, breaking exterior glass on the Bank of California building.

ORIGINAL POST:

Snowslip, MT reported a gust of 164 mph last night. You can see the data here, it looks a little suspect to me because the highest sustained wind was 40 mph (normally you would see hurricane-force sustained winds with a gust such as this). However, the data itself looks OK. I report, you decide. I have emailed the NWS for comment and will report back here later. Even if it proves to be inaccurate, I'll buy the Logan Pass gust off 133 mph with sustained winds of 70 mph.

Here's an update on other stations in the Northwest which have gusted over Hurricane Force* (74 mph) with this last storm. Although I have quality controlled this list, many of these stations are unofficial and accuracy is not guaranteed. Most reports are from ROMAN (The Government Mesonet) or the NWS:

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/phoenix2/images/adc/promotional/community/blog/wind.swf

Snowslip, MT: 164 mph***
Logans Pass, MT: 133 mph
Lee Vining Hill, CA: 117 mph**
Mount Hebo, OR: 114 mph**
Chinook Pass, WA: 113 mph**
Brookings, OR: 112 mph**
MacDonald Pass, MT: 109 mph
Mount Ranier, WA: 100 mph**
White Pass, WA: 99 mph
Rattlesnake Mountain, WA: 99 mph**
Mount Hood Meadows, OR: 99 mph**
Rockaway Beach, OR: 97 mph**
Rockhouse, OR: 95 mph**
Garibaldi, OR: 93 mph**
Polk County, OR: 91 mph**
Lincoln City, OR: 91 mph**
Reisenauer Hill, ID: 88 mph**
Banner, ID: 86 mph
Garibaldi, OR: 86 mph**
Sugarloaf, OR: 85 mph
Yaquina Bridge, OR: 85 mph**
Cape Blanco, OR: 85 mph
Crystal Mountain, WA: 85 mph**
Bordeaux, WY: 84 mph
Squaw Peak, OR: 83 mph**
Mount Hood, OR: 83 mph
Fales Rock, WY: 82 mph
Brush Creek, OR: 82 mph
Newport, OR: 82 mph

Honorable Mention (75-81 mph): Camp Creek, WY; Cheyenne, WY; Soldier Mountain, ID; Chief Joseph, WY; Port Orford, WA; Cape Foulweather, OR; Garibaldi, OR; Abernathy Mountain, WA; Antelop, OR; Hanford, WA; Beverly, WA; Blue Ridge, OR; Gable Mountain, WA; North Pole Ridge, OR; Signal Tree, OR; Sugarloaf, OR; SNO38 Summit, WA; Mammoth, CA; Hood River, WA; Cannon Beach, OR; Bay City, OR; Salem, OR, Lane OR; Klipsan Beach, WA; Rock Spring, MT; Nye MT, Jordan, MT; Keso, OR; Tillamook, OR; Shaniko, OR; North Pole, OR; Destruction Island, WA

**New reading since last report.
***See accuracy disclaimers above.

And the next storm is approaching today. Western experts here at AccuWeather such as Paul Yeager (PREMIUM | PRO) and Ken Clark (PREMIUM | PRO) say that this storm may be the strongest, bringing the 40-foot waves back and causing winds to gust over 100 mph again. Keep an eye on their blogs, the Western News Blog (PREMIUM | PRO) and our Breaking Weather News Page (PREMIUM | PRO) for further updates on the storm.

uf1214a

*Saying "gusting over hurricane force" is a bit misleading, since hurricane force is determined by sustained winds. But it's ubiquity as a term causes me to allow it.

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