Ninety-one years ago, the highest surface wind speed ever officially recorded was 372 km/h (231 mph; 103 m/s) at the Mount Washington (New Hampshire) Observatory in the US on 12 April 1934, using a heated anemometer. The anemometer, specifically designed for use on Mount Washington, was later tested by the US National Weather Bureau and confirmed to be accurate. That’s an astoundingly powerful wind.
Building codes for much of the United States require buildings to be built for 90 mph wind loads. Due to the design and construction requirements inherent in modular buildings, particularly during their transport, we find that our modular buildings typically exceed building codes without extra reinforcing.
While designing to accommodate 231 mph winds would present a monumental challenge, Palomar has built many structures along the Gulf Coast, which requires buildings to meet wind loads from 100-150 mph. In 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall with 110 mph Category 2 winds and a 22-foot storm surge West of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, the site of a Palomar modular building, the Johnson Bayou Rural Health Clinic. Sitting on a foundation of raised piers for flood safety, the building suffered minor damage to its underside in the third-costliest hurricane to make landfall in the United States.
