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Climate and Weather

Wind

What is the Beaufort scale?

The Beaufort scale was devised in 1805 by a British Admiral, Sir Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), to help mariners in handling ships. It uses a series of numbers from 0 to 17 to indicate wind speeds and applies to both land and sea.

Beaufort number Name Wind speed (mph/kph)
0 Calm <><>
1 Light air 1–3 / 1.5–4.8
2 Light breeze 4–7 / 6.4–11.3
3 Gentle breeze 8–12 / 12.9–19.3
4 Moderate breeze 13–18 / 21–29
5 Fresh breeze 19–24 / 30.6–38.6
6 Strong breeze 25–31 / 40.2–50
7 Moderate gale 32–38 / 51.5–61.1
8 Fresh gale 39–46 / 62.8–74
9 Strong gale 47–54 / 75.6–86.9
10 Whole gale 55–63 / 88.5–101.4
11 Storm 64–73 / 103–117.5
12–17 Hurricane 74 /119.1


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