Well, not the tent, but the pole, second from the foot end, snapped on the second segment up off the ground on the slightly leeward side in winds gusting to 40 knots.
The guy ropes were secured to large rocks and everything looked OK. The tent had been up for a few hours and everything was going OK, bum pointed into the wind etc. There may have been some bounce at the bottom of the pole in the gusts, which I suppose was a major contributor to the breakage.
How do I know 40 knots? My anenometer was located about 30 meters away and recording at the time. I suspect the gust was higher than the recorded 40 knots.
Following the pole break, the tent was completely lifted off ground, guys pulled off rock moorings, fortunately the tent snagged on other obstacles 30 meters downwind and was retrieved. The tent was empty at the time.
My companion, also in a Keron 3 GT 20 meters upwind of me, had no such issues.
Still it was a concern to me, we were in a group with many tents so I wasn't in danger (freezing temperatures each night) but had I been by myself it might be a different story. I guess I will double up on the poles for such conditions in the future.
Anyone else had a pole break on a Hilleberg? Also, we were in a very dusty environment, I guess the tent has been used for 30 days total, and there are small perforations developing in the pole sleeves, quite noticeable.