Is 142 km/hr the strongest recorded wind we've had on port Philip Bay? That was a wild night!

Well yes and no...

We think it WAS the highest gust recorded on the bay, as the only other higher observations in the two 'weather districts' that take in Melbourne and the bay are 154 km/h at Laverton on 14 January 1985 and 147 km/h at Essendon on 6 September 1948. But there is a lot of weather data that hasn't been digitised and isn't in the BoM databases, so take it with a grain of salt.

windjunky said...
...and 147 km/h at Essendon on 6 September 1948. But there is a lot of weather data that hasn't been digitised and isn't in the BoM databases, so take it with a grain of salt.

Just how accurate were anemometers in 1948?

Thanks for the expert opinion by the way!

Glitch said..

In February 1918 several tornadoes hit Brighton that killed 2 people, were estimated at 170 knots.

How could I have forgotten about that!! Yes indeed, but speeds were just estimates:
From - http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/environ/tornadoes.shtml
"The afternoon of 2 February 1918 was humid and unsettled in Melbourne, with a slow-moving low pressure trough crossing Victoria. As the trough approached, heavy thunderclouds built up. About 4.50 pm, the so-called "Brighton cyclone" struck: apparently two separate tornadoes, followed about five minutes later by a third, hit the bayside suburb causing great destruction. Many buildings were totally destroyed, and even well constructed houses severely damaged. At one location two tornado tracks crossed, creating (according to the Argus) a "veritable orgy of destruction". In the few minutes that the storm lasted, two people were killed and many others injured. Wind speeds were estimated at 320 km/h (Fujita rating F3), making this possibly the most intense tornado to hit a major Australian city. After hitting Brighton, the tornadoes apparently continued east across "open country" (now densely settled). Were such a storm to occur today, the death and injury toll would likely be much higher."