Wind Measurements in Ivan

[azskyman]

I was just noting this from "official" discussions about Ivan, I am curious to know at what level winds are effectively measured during the course of the storm's trek across the Gulf.

If measured from buoys, at what height? If measured from dropsondes or other instruments, at what height? If measured from hurricane hunter aircraft, at what height? What tools allow for accurate measurement at or just above the ocean interface with the atmosphere? Doppler? Interpretation from other data?

This seems to be saying that the wind-based category of a hurricane or tropical storm is based on winds at or near the surface which makes sense. Still, if it jumps about one category higher at 300 feet, it stirs my interest to know at what level, and just how, those true surface winds are measured while the storm is only at sea where no fixed instruments are in place.

Here's the quote....

Occupants of high-rise buildings within the Hurricane Warning area can expect higher winds than those experienced at the surface...about one Saffir-Simpson category higher at the top of a 30-story building.