National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
September 14, 2008
Remnants of Hurricane Ike / Ohio Valley Windstorm


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
249 PM EDT FRI SEP 19 2008

HOW WIND IS MEASURED AND RECORDED OVER THE YEARS HAS CHANGED. CURRENTLY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TRACKS TWO TYPES OF WIND SPEEDS. A SUSTAINED
WIND...WHICH IS AN AVERAGE OVER 2 MINUTES. BEFORE 1984...A FASTEST MILE
WAS RECORDED RATHER THAN THE 2 MINUTE SUSTAINED. THIS WAS THE AVERAGE
OVER 1 MINUTE.

NEXT IS AN INSTANTANEOUS GUST...A VALUE AVERAGED OVER 3 SECONDS. THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DID NOT START TO INCLUDE THE INSTANTANEOUS
GUSTS IN THEIR YEAR END SUMMARIES UNTIL 1984. THEREFORE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE
TO TRACK ALL WIND GUSTS BEFORE 1984.

COMPARING THE RECORDED WINDS FROM SUNDAYS HIGH WIND EVENT. AT DAYTON...THE
HIGHEST SUSTAINED WIND WAS 50 MPH...AND THE HIGHEST GUST WAS 69 MPH. BOTH
OF THESE WERE MEASURED AT THE DAYTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE HIGHEST
SUSTAINED WIND RECORDED AT DAYTON...DATING BACK TO 1919 WAS 78 MPH...ON
JUNE 16 1950. IT CAN BE ASSUMED THAT GUSTS WERE HIGHER. THE HIGHEST GUST
RECORDED...SINCE 1984...WAS 74 MPH ON JULY 19 1998. THEREFORE THE GUSTS
ON SUNDAY WERE THE SECOND HIGHEST GUST ON RECORD AND THE THIRD HIGHEST
WIND SPEED RECORDED SINCE 1919.

AT CINCINNATI...THE HIGHEST SUSTAINED WIND ON SUNDAY WAS 54 MPH...AND THE
HIGHEST GUST WAS 74 MPH. THESE WERE MEASURED AT THE CINCINNATI-NORTHERN
KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE HIGHEST GUST RECORDED...SINCE 1984...WAS
76 MPH ON APRIL 2 2006. THE HIGHEST SUSTAINED WIND RECORDED IN
CINCINNATI...DATING BACK TO 1939 WAS 60 MPH...RECORDED ON NOVEMBER 20 1950.
THEREFORE THE GUSTS ON SUNDAY WERE THE SECOND HIGHEST GUST ON RECORD AND
THE SUSTAINED WINDS WERE THE THIRD HIGHEST ON RECORD.

FINALLY AT COLUMBUS...THE HIGHEST SUSTAINED WIND ON SUNDAY WAS 54 MPH...AND
THE HIGHEST GUST WAS 75 MPH. THESE WERE MEASURED AT PORT COLUMBUS
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE HIGHEST GUST RECORDED...SINCE 1916...WAS 110 MPH
ON JULY 31 1916 AND THE HIGHEST SUSTAINED WIND RECORDED WAS 84 MPH ON THE
SAME DATE. THESE WERE RECORDED IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS. THEREFORE THE GUSTS ON
SUNDAY WERE THE SECOND HIGHEST GUST ON RECORD...BUT THE HIGHEST EVER
RECORDED AT PORT COLUMBUS AND THE SUSTAINED WINDS WERE THE SIXTH HIGHEST
ON RECORD.

$$

SITES/RYAN