This Day In History: Mount Washington's 231-Mph Wind Gust Sets World Record

NORTH CONWAY, N.H. (CBS) – To experience hurricane-force winds atop New England's highest peak is nothing out of the ordinary.

But on April 12, 1934, weather observers at the summit of Mount Washington recorded wind speeds that no one else on Earth has witnessed since.

Gusts that day topped out at 231 mph, setting a surface-based wind speed record that stood until 1996, when an unmanned instrument station on Australia's Barrow Island clocked 253-mph winds during a typhoon.

But Mount Washington continues to hold the record for having the strongest surface wind speeds ever observed by humans.

The Mount Washington Observatory was less than 2 years old when a powerful storm approached the region 82 years ago.

"There was no doubt this morning that a super-hurricane, Mt. Washington style, was in full development," staff member Sal Pagliuca wrote on the April 12 log.

One brave researcher even ventured outside to fix a piece of equipment as wind speeds reached 150 mph.

You can read more about the historic weather event on the Mount Washington Observatory's website.