Are NHC maximum sustained winds possible over land?

[zlaxier]

It seems to me people do not correctly interpret the NHC advisories on maximum sustained winds. These are theoretical winds occurring over open ocean without any land frictional effects.

Do these winds ever occur over land?

The minute a hurricane hits land the winds pretty much drop one category, even if the hurricane structure doesn't appear to be weakening.

Probably only on barrier islands and 1 mile or so from water sources do the winds approach the NHC maximum sustained winds.

[WxGuy1]

I'm sure some can site publications or analyses that address this topic. From my observations, most people experience winds much less than they think they are experiencing. Most of the time, the strongest winds occur within a couple of miles of the coast, before slowing considerably due to friction effects. In addition, the area of max winds in most storms is very small, say 10-20 miles outside the eye, resulting in (most of the time) a relatively small percentage of people (out of the entirety of the hurricane warning area) that ever experience the "max" winds.

There's a bit of psychology involved too. Many people want to think they experienced the worst that Mother Nature can offer. For example, you'll occassionally hear someone say "Oh yea, I remember ****, it was a Cat 3, but our house come out just fine". They won't tell you (or they won't remember -- I'm not blaming the person) that they eye passed 100 miles away from their house, and they probably only experienced weak hurricane or tropical storm force winds.

That's partially why so many people were caught off-guard by the intensity of Wilma as she passed through Florida. "What, that HAD to be stronger than what the NHC says!" No, they just finally experienced what high winds actually look like. Again, I am NOT faulting anyone -- it's human nature, and you can't be expected to instinctively know what 90mph sustained winds with 110mph gusts "looks like". It's quite a bit stronger than most people realize, again, largely due to the fact that what they previously experience and associated with that type of wind is largely incorrect.

[Blown Away]

I sure do know what Cat 1 & 2 sustained winds are with 100-115 mph gusts. Any gust over 100mph is friggen scary wind!!!

[brunota2003]

ahhh...good question...quick trip to the NHC FAQ (which I love doing as they update the stuff and add new questions on occasion) leads up to this answer about "Maximum Sustained Winds":
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/D4.html