Most of these peak gusts are from official stations.

The February 13, 1979 Windstorm is a natural phenomenon that took place on February 13, 1979 in Canada. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) During the early morning of February 13 1979, an intense wave cyclone moved across southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) In Meteorology, a cyclone refers to an area of closed circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C South of the low center, a strong atmospheric pressure gradient was carried across Washington, with associated high winds. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. With a cold airflow moving toward the northeast interacting with the high terrain of the Olympic Mountains, a lee low developed east of the Olympics. The Olympic Mountains are a Mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mesoscale low caused a particularly intense pressure gradient to develop across the Kitsap Peninsula region. Mesoscale Meteorology is the study of Weather systems smaller than Synoptic scale systems but larger than microscale and Storm-scale cumulus The Kitsap Peninsula is an arm of land that is part of the larger Olympic Peninsula in Washington

Wind velocity

At 6 mbar over 8 miles, the geostrophic wind potential easily exceeded 200 knots (which roughly translates to about 100 knots in ageostrophic flow over the Earth's rough surface, or 115 mph). A geostrophic current results from the balance between gravitational forces and the Coriolis effect. As reported by the crew of the Hood Canal Bridge, average winds reached at least 80 mph out of the south, with gusts into the triple digits. The Hood Canal Bridge is located in Washington state in the USA on State Route 104 and connects the Olympic Peninsula and the Kitsap Peninsula These wind velocities were cross-checked on two different anemometers at the bridge control tower. An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed and is one instrument used in a Weather station.

Damage

Extensive damage to trees on surrounding private timberland also corroborate the extreme intensity of this tempest. The pressure of wind and wave on the generally east-west oriented bridge stressed the structure enough to cause catastrophic failure. It is suspected that a severe list in the bridge exposed pontoon access hatches to the waves, which subsequently tore the covers loose and allowed water to enter the flotation devices, causing sections to sink. It took nearly three years and over $140 million U. S. to rebuild the lost bridge.

See also

• Storm

Further reading

• Richard J. A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface and strongly implying Severe weather. Reed, "Destructive Wind Caused by an Orographically Induced Mesoscale Cyclone," in Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 61, No. 11, November 1980.