Graham

Do you know if the Japanese use a 1 minute mean when they issue tropical cyclone warnings?

As an observer here in the UK, you often got a very short peak in wind speed on a frontal passage or some kind of trough or squall line, but it would very rarely last a full 10 minutes.

According to Wikipedia "the value of a one-minute sustained wind is 14% greater than a ten-minute sustained wind".

To me a 1 minute mean is almost akin to a gust but I'm just a miserable old sod.

It would be interesting to know what does all the damage in a storm - the extreme gusts or the sustained mean speed - my money would be on the mean doing as much damage as the gust.

Bruce.