DISTRIBUTION OF EXTREME WIND SPEEDS ON SAKHALIN ISLAND

E. Kato, V. Yu. Savel'ev, and G. V. Shevchenko

Using several meteorological stations on Sakhalin Island as an example, it is shown that distributions of annual maximum wind speeds obtained from instrumental observations differ considerably from those derived from vane measurements (this is most pronounced for standard observations and, to a lesser degree, for maximum gusts). On the basis of instrumental observations alone (M-63M anemometer) at 31 meteorological stations of the Sakhalin Regional Hydrometeorological Service for a period of no less than 22 years, the values of prognostic wind speeds of rare occurrence have been obtained, and maps of distribution of the values occurring once every 50 years have been constructed.