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Near-record winds over the Northeast push passenger planes to speeds over 800 mph

wamu.org Near-record winds over the Northeast push passenger planes to speeds over 800 mph

A couple of planes got a big push from a jet stream with winds clocking 265 mph at cruising altitude this weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Near-record winds over the Northeast push passenger planes to speeds over 800 mph

Strong high-altitude winds over the Mid-Atlantic sped up sky traffic on Saturday night, getting passengers on at least two commercial planes to their destinations early, after both aircraft hit supersonic speeds topping 800 mph.

Winds at cruising altitude peaked at about 265 mph, according to the Washington, D.C., area National Weather Service office — the second-highest wind speed logged in the region since recordings began in 1948. The highest-ever wind speed recorded in the area at a similar altitude was 267 mph on Dec. 6, 2002.

“For those flying eastbound in this jet, there will be quite a tail wind,” the NWS warned in a tweet.

Sure enough, that tailwind helped cut down the flight time for passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from D.C. to London by 45 minutes, according to the tracker FlightAware.

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