What is the fastest wind speed ever recorded?

To answer the question "What is the fastest wind speed ever recorded?", let's take a look at some of the most interesting and memorable records.

In 1934, at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, a gust of wind was recorded at 231 mph (372 km/h).

This was the record for the strongest wind speed on Earth until 1996 , when a tropical cyclone swept across Barrow Island, Australia. On April 10, 1996, an anemometer there recorded a natural wind gust of up to 253 mph (407 km/h) , which is now a record recognized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Hurricane Irma hit Miami, Florida, USA with winds of more than 100 mph (161 km/h), but did not set a record for the fastest wind speed. (Source: Getty Images).

To validate this data, it has been examined over a decade, as the site is privately owned and the equipment requires thorough verification.

Beyond Earth, Neptune's winds can reach speeds of up to 1,100 mph (1,770 km/h), 1.5 times the speed of sound. These are the strongest supersonic winds ever observed by NASA in the Solar System.

Humans also create impressive wind speeds in the lab. At NASA's Glenn Research Center, a hypersonic wind tunnel can generate speeds of up to Mach 3.5, or about 2,685 mph (4,321 km/h). These winds are used to study the extreme conditions for aircraft and spacecraft.

WMO only recognizes wind speed records measured by physical instruments, such as anemometers, because these are direct and highly accurate measurements. Doppler radar devices can estimate wind speed from a distance based on radar waves reflected from raindrops, but these figures are not recognized by WMO because they are indirect estimates.

In 1999, the strongest tornado wind speed recorded was in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma , with a speed of up to 302 mph (486 km/h) thanks to "Doppler on Wheels" equipment – ​​a truck-mounted radar that specializes in tracking and mapping tornadoes from a distance.

More recently, in May, another tornado in Greenfield, Iowa, also reached speeds of 309 to 318 mph (497 to 512 km/h), but due to the margin of error, this figure only matched the 1999 record.

In addition to low-level wind speed records, jet streams – fast high-altitude air currents – can reach speeds of over 275 mph (443 km/h) . Potential records of over 300 mph (483 km/h) have also been recorded in Japan and the western Pacific, measured by radiosondes attached to weather balloons.

Although not officially recognized by the WMO, these figures open up prospects for the strongest winds that humans may record in the future.