ISABEL'S PEAK SUSTAINED WINDS?

[AussieMark]

I was wondering just how strong was Isabel (at peak) as i remember when the first reconnaissance flight went into Isabel (cat 5 at the time) that the NHC mentioned that she was may have been stronger the day before so I was wondering what do u think her maximum sustained winds at peak were?


EXTRACT FROM ISABEL #27 - DISCUSSION (5 PM September 12)
REPORTS FROM AIR FORCE RESERVE AND NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT
CONFIRM THAT ISABEL IS A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE. MAXIMUM OBSERVED
FLIGHT-LEVEL WINDS SO FAR ARE 156 KT AT 700 MB...SUPPORTING SURFACE
WINDS NEAR 140 KT. THE EYE IS 30 NM WIDE WITH A CLOSED WALL AND A
MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 920 MB. THE INITIAL INTENSITY THUS REMAINS 140
KT...WHICH AGREES WITH SATELLITE INTENSITY ESTIMATES. IT SHOULD BE
NOTED THAT ISABEL LOOKS A LITTLE LESS ORGANIZED IN SATELLITE
IMAGERY THAN IT DID 24 HR AGO. THUS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE
STRONGER YESTERDAY.

[WXBUFFJIM]

160 is the max winds I got. However the day before recon got into this cat 5, it's not impossible it was even a bit stronger than 160 mph. Of course on another note, Recon slew through wind gusts well over 200 mph. An amazing storm without a doubt.

Jim

[Stormsfury]

Honestly, I would not be surprised on preliminary reports that Isabel was indeed stronger, maybe as deep as 910 mb. It is possible that if indeed that is found, potentially Isabel might have been 165-170 mph. A lot of speculation and could make for an interesting debate.

SF

[Derek Ortt]

Sustained winds may have topped out between 145-155KT due to th sat estimates being lower than the recon intensity when recon found the 5