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What's the fastest recorded wind speed?

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The fastest wind speed ever recorded was recorded on Barrow Island , Australia , in 1996 .

The maximum natural wind gust ever recorded is 253 mph ( 407 km /h) On Earth , human-built wind tunnels can create supersonic winds, defined as 761.2 mph ( 1,225 kmh) at sea level.

Wurman and others recorded the highest tornado wind speeds in 1999 in Bridge Creek , Oklahoma , at 302 mph ( 486 km /h) The margin of error in the radar estimation means that this new reading is basically the same as the 1999 record.

Wurmen's team calculated wind speeds as high as 309 to 318 mph in a tornado that tore through Greenfield , Iowa , in May 2024 .