High winds battered the region earlier this week, setting a new record for February at the summit of Mount Washington in N.H. On Monday, Feb. 25, the Hays Chart (above) recorded a gust of 171 m.p.h.– more powerful than a Category 5 hurricane! The previous monthly record was 166 m.p.h. set in 1972. Mount Washington is the tallest peak in the northeast at 6,200 feet. It once held the world record for fastest wind gust ever measured on Earth at 231 m.p.h., in 1934.