B737-700
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 214
Deviation - Altitude Overshoot; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Weather
Jet stream wind speed accelerated from 80 knots to 150 knots in a very short time. The aircraft autopilot and auto throttles couldn't adjust quickly enough to changing tailwind. Aircraft accelerated from .78 Mach to .82 Mach in a matter of seconds. At FL380; aircraft vertical velocity increased from 1500 fpm to over 6500 fpm. I disconnected VNAV and attempted to halt the climb but couldn't stop aircraft from climbing through FL410. Finally stopped ascent at FL420 and descended back to FL410. That was our assigned altitude. Reconnected autopilot and wind settled back to an 80 knot tailwind. Rest of flight was uneventful.
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B737-700 flight crew reported a sudden increase in tailwind resulted in climbing through the assigned cruise altitude.