How Windy Does It Have To Get To Beat Amarillo's Windiest Ever?

Yesterday (2/14/23) was an awfully windy day. The National Weather Service in Amarillo posted about it on Facebook and people posted photos of the insanity caused by the wind.

As windy as it was, was it anything near the windiest day ever in Amarillo, Texas?

Valentine's Day 2023 Was A Windy One For The Books, But Not Windiest.

Is it windy in Amarillo, Texas? Hell yes. It's windy almost all of the time. But just how "windy" is windy in a place that's always battling with the wind?

Looking at the social media post I mentioned earlier from the NWS in Amarillo, yesterday was insanely windy. There are a lot of photos of blowing dust, causing visibility to be near zero. They mentioned reports of blown over trucks and signs.

Looking through the responses, and having my own terrifying experience driving in those strong winds yesterday, I started wondering where Valentine's Day fell in comparison to the windiest day in Amarillo ever.

What I found out, is that while yesterday was windy it didn't come close to the windiest ever recorded.

What Was The Windiest Day In Amarillo, Texas? May 15, 1949.

On May 15, 1949 Amarillo experienced its windiest day ever; at least from what we have on record. According to the National Weather Service, the wind speed came from a "one minute wind speed."

They didn't start measuring "peak gusts" until the 1970s.

On that day in 1949, a tornado supposedly passed within a mile of the station. The one minute wind speed that was recorded, was 84 mph.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around that one. That's an awfully strong wind speed. I can't imagine trying to get around in something like that. Being a somewhat thin framed man, I know that wind would pick me up and toss me into the horizon like a drunk frat brother with a frisbee.

Interestingly enough, the highest peak gust that has been recorded is 81 mph. We saw that in 1973, 2008, and 2011.

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