For two days in a row, Grande Prairie has gotten record wind gusts. They reached as high as 72 kilometres an hour on Monday and 76 kilometres an hour on Tuesday.
Environment Canada says Monday’s winds bested a 57-year-old record of 68 kilometres an hour set on June 25, 1961. However, it was almost as windy on June 26th a year ago, as the previous record was 74 kilometres an hour set in 2017.
Meteorologist Brian Proctor says while strong, those wind gusts are nowhere near the fastest recorded at the Grande Prairie Airport.
“The strongest winds are typically in May, July, or during the winter months,” he explains. “They’re a summer or winter phenomenon.”
The strongest wind gusts on record for Grande Prairie were 122 kilometres an hour on May 14, 1971. That’s followed by 121 kilometres an hour on January 5, 1972, and 120 kilometres an hour on January 14, 2014.
The record for wind gusts in Grande Prairie on June 27th was 77 kilometres an hour set in 1964. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, they reached 66 kilometres an hour at the local airport.