Record Blown Away

The saying is that “records are made to be broken,” but this record was quite literally blown away. Citizens of New Hampshire have enjoyed 2 claims to fame. In the granite state, the glaciers created an image of an old man on Cannon Mountain. When viewed in a certain direction, the 40′ (12m) x 25′ (7.6m) series of cliffs created a jagged appearance of an old man. This was a huge tourist attraction and found its way on a US postage stamp and on the state’s quarter. First mentioned in 1805, Mother Nature and Father Time worked together and helped cause its collapse on May 3, 2003.

Mt. Washington is the tallest mountain in the Northeast at 6,288′ — part of the White Mountains. A private weather observatory ontop of this mountain has provided scientists with a unique view of some of the nastiest weather in the world. On April 12, 1934, three crew, 2 guests, and a handful of pets witnessed record winds of 231 mph. It was announced this week by the World Meteorological Organization that after due consideration, new record blew past this one. According to records, a gust of wind at 253 mph occurred on Australia’s Barrow Island during Cyclone Olivia.

Since records are made to be broken, it is only fair that the winds of time crown a new “windiest spot on Earth.” For our friends in N.H., Mt. Washington still holds the record for the Northern and Western Hemisphere.