U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for November 8

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8: THE BIG WEATHER PICTURE

Profile America — Monday, November 8th.  It's said, "everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."  This week 19 years ago, scientists took a big step in at least understanding some of the driving forces of everyday weather.  A satellite launched from the space shuttle Discovery identified huge windstorms in the upper atmosphere.  Winds were clocked up to 200 miles an hour, flowing in masses up to 6,000 miles wide.  On the earth's surface, the highest wind gust ever recorded by human observers was on top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire — an amazing 231 miles an hour in April 1934.  Among U.S. cities, the highest annual average winds are not, as you might expect, in Chicago, but in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at almost 13 miles an hour.  Profile America is in its 14th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2010, p. 551

               Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 384

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau