California appeared to set a new record for wind speed over the weekend as a gust of 209 mph was recorded on top of Kirkwood Mountain south of Lake Tahoe, CBS News reported.
The old record, 199 mph, was set slightly more than two years ago at Ward Mountain west of Lake Tahoe.
National Weather Service forecaster Alex Hoon said that it could take months to verify the new record, although he said that "the way that the winds did ramp up, it looks legitimate. It's an exciting moment for sure."
However, the National Weather Service sent out a tweet expressing skepticism about the force of the wind.
"After further review the 209 mph wind gust reported at Kirkwood seems questionable,” the service wrote. “The station seems to have multiple errors including 92 percent relative humidity during the strong winds. Also the wind seems to have been unusually strong the past few days at this station.”
The stormy weather was certainly genuine, however, and affected large parts of the state, as strong winds downed trees and resulted in power outages to tens of thousands in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as causing the waters of the bay itself to rise significantly, according to CBS.
The same storm system also hit Los Angeles, with heavy rains greeting the movie stars as they arrived for the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday.
There was also hail in parts of greater Los Angeles and snow in mountain areas nearthe city.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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