To be honest, I'm not sure. I think a lot of the data in that hurricane hunter drone was based on a gust and not necessarily a sustained wind speed.
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Current Tropical Systems Melissa
Hurricane Melissa
- Thread starter Jacob Aden
- Start date
jiharris0220
Member
All hurricane hunter aircraft devices that measures wind base them off of gusts, even the flight level winds are taken by averaging wind speeds over a 10 second period.
Which is why conversions are used to estimate 1 min sustained winds.
Depending on how strong the gust were in the lowest 150m from that drone, if verifiable, can be evidence for a higher upgrade.
Extreme tree damage in the Bluefields area just inland of the landfall point.
233 mph (202 kt) was recorded at around 300 ft.
jiharris0220
Member
It’s just a single value at a single level so kinda useless to make a relevant estimate but doing so anyways, equates/rounds to 170knots at the surface.
Again though, I don’t have a vertical wind column to work with so that number isn’t relevant.
Good god…that one by the red shipping containers.
Also just wanted to remind people about the Significant Tropical Cyclones thread. Great place to find and post eyewall damage pics.
Some incredible damage to concrete/masonry buildings and trees. Looks like at least one slabbed home too.
Edit: After finding its location on Google Maps, I think the house in the last pic was slabbed by surge rather than wind. Still, rest of the pics are incredible.
Edit: After finding its location on Google Maps, I think the house in the last pic was slabbed by surge rather than wind. Still, rest of the pics are incredible.
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Code:
Significant Wind Levels
Level Wind Direction Wind Speed
927mb (Surface) 185° (from the S) 172 knots (198 mph)
924mb 190° (from the S) 171 knots (197 mph)
922mb 185° (from the S) 179 knots (206 mph)
921mb 185° (from the S) 185 knots (213 mph)
919mb 190° (from the S) 187 knots (215 mph)
918mb 190° (from the S) 195 knots (224 mph)
917mb 190° (from the S) 189 knots (217 mph)
916mb 195° (from the SSW) 203 knots (234 mph)
915mb 195° (from the SSW) 189 knots (217 mph)
914mb 195° (from the SSW) 189 knots (217 mph)
912mb 205° (from the SSW) 206 knots (237 mph)
911mb 205° (from the SSW) 215 knots (247 mph)
907mb 205° (from the SSW) 214 knots (246 mph)
906mb 205° (from the SSW) 219 knots (252 mph)
901mb 215° (from the SW) 207 knots (238 mph)
890mb 215° (from the SW) 201 knots (231 mph)
884mb 220° (from the SW) 184 knots (212 mph)
879mb 220° (from the SW) 176 knots (203 mph)
867mb 225° (from the SW) 182 knots (209 mph)
864mb 225° (from the SW) 190 knots (219 mph)
862mb 225° (from the SW) 192 knots (221 mph)
860mb 230° (from the SW) 211 knots (243 mph)
858mb 230° (from the SW) 198 knots (228 mph)
856mb 230° (from the SW) 196 knots (226 mph)
853mb 235° (from the SW) 185 knots (213 mph)
850mb 240° (from the WSW) 187 knots (215 mph)
846mb 245° (from the WSW) 197 knots (227 mph)
831mb 265° (from the W) 171 knots (197 mph)
830mb 255° (from the WSW) 189 knots (217 mph)
827mb 260° (from the W) 181 knots (208 mph)
826mb 265° (from the W) 166 knots (191 mph)
825mb 265° (from the W) 170 knots (196 mph)
820mb 270° (from the W) 141 knots (162 mph)
808mb 265° (from the W) 160 knots (184 mph)
801mb 260° (from the W) 144 knots (166 mph)
789mb 260° (from the W) 163 knots (188 mph)
773mb 265° (from the W) 115 knots (132 mph)
750mb 270° (from the W) 140 knots (161 mph)
741mb 255° (from the WSW) 110 knots (127 mph)
730mb 250° (from the WSW) 106 knots (122 mph)
713mb 255° (from the WSW) 133 knots (153 mph)
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tornado examiner
Member
Numerous met’s were stunned by this reading and say it is very much grounds for an upgrade in post analysis. The consistency of the high winds suggest that they aren't just instantaneous gusts and that the hurricane likely had sustained winds that high throughout the eye wall.
Is what I read about this sonde
I think they are right to investigate ALL the available data beforehand and care and adherence to truth is needed - but there is solid evidence that the landfall speed was higher than official, based on both that and other 10/28 dropsonde data and the further tightening of the eye as it made landfall.
Well I thought that was the same drone that recorded the 252 mph (219 kt) reading at 250 m.
That was a dropsonde from a hurricane hunter aircraft.
Yeah, I expect every detail about that dropsonde will be checked 10 times or so. When I saw it come through, I just about fainted.
tornado examiner
Member
Really good shot at being the first official 195mph+ hurricane confirmed in the Atlantic. Even if it only reached this intensity for a brief amount of time right before landfall.
Does the dropsonde say anything about the duration of those winds?