It has been reported that Grandfather Mountain has experienced some of the "highest surface wind speeds ever recorded," with unverified speeds in excess of . More recently, Grandfather Mountain has upgraded their wind equipment in order to help resolve controversy over these high wind recordings. Notably however, the new equipment is located on the Swinging Bridge of the attraction. The new instruments may not record the highest wind speeds on the mountain, which extends another 684 vertical feet above the current location of the equipment.