April 12, 2024 in the World

The frozen tower at the summit of Mount Washington.
Copyright: Onfokus, license: istockphoto.com
Big Wind Day takes place on April 12, 2024. Big Wind Day commemorates the "big wind", which was measured on April 12th, 1934 and reached 231 miles per hour. Until 2010, a weather observatory on the Mt. Washington NH held the world record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, 231 mph (372 km/h or 103 m/s), on the afternoon of April 12, 1934.

It can still be argued that Mount Washington holds the record for the highest surface wind speed recorded 'by man'; the new Australian record of 2010 was measured by an automated station while no human was present, while the Mount Washington wind gust was actually measured by a human being.

Phenomena measured via satellite or radar, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and air currents in the upper atmosphere, are not directly measured at the Earth's surface and do not compete with either of these records.