I may be mistaken, but the wind speeds shown on those various maps are software estimates using buoy data. Perhaps someone else can chime in. If I'm correct, that would indicate "ground level" conditions.

I can certainly corroborate what the wind speeds were like on the ground during Hurricane Michael, as we were only about 15-20 miles from the eye wall. Making things further difficult during hurricanes are the tornados, but before the Naval weather station here was destroyed, it recorded a 180+mph wind speed. Cat 5 hurricanes are a whole other category.

Obstruction along the ground will slow a hurricane down (even tear it apart), as well as the cooler temperatures. I think that evidence supports the proposition that the highest wind speeds are closer to ground level.