56 km/h: 28-33 kt 32-38 mph 50-61 km/h: Strong: Near gale: High: Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks along the direction of the wind. 13½-19 ft. 4 m: Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against the wind. 8: 37 kt 43 mph 68 km/h: 34-40 kt 39-46 mph 62-74 km/h: Gale: Gale: Very High
What wind speed is dangerous to drive in?
Winds of even 30 to 45 mph can make driving significantly more dangerous. First, they can actually blow your car off course. Second, they can blow other vehicles, including big tractor-trailers, off course, posing significant danger to other motorists on the road. This is thoroughly answered here.
What mph is considered windy?
Storm Eunice has produced heightened concern because it has the potential to produce a “sting jet,” a small area of intense winds that may exceed 100 mph. One example of ... locating a Bakersfield man who is considered at risk. The man is Floyd Dennis ...
What is a dangerous wind speed?
However, it will quickly be followed by the "more dangerous" Storm Eunice on Friday. LNER warns customers not to travel on Friday London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is advising people planning to ...
How dangerous is wind speed?
- 2.1 Safe Wind Limits For Sea Kayaking
- 2.2 Dangerous Wind Limits For Sea Kayaking
- 2.3 Tips To Prepare For Windy Sea Kayaking Conditions
What is a strong wind per km?
The Beaufort Scale - use at SeaForceDescriptionWind speed4Moderate breeze20 - 29 km/h5Fresh breeze30 - 39 km/h6Strong breeze40 - 49 km/h7Near gale50 - 61 km/h9 more rows
Is 13 km/h windy?
8-12 Mph 12-19 kph 7-10 knots Gentle Breeze Leaves and small twigs move, light weight flags extend. Large wavelets, crests start to break, some whitecaps. 13-18 Mph 20-28 kph 11-16 knots Moderate Breeze Small branches move, raises dust, leaves and paper.
Is 20 km wind strong?
10 to 19 km/h Weather wanes will move, leaves will rustle, and you'll feel a breeze on your face. Situation normal. 20 to 29 km/h Strong enough to straighten flying flags and shake small tree branches. Expect dust and loose paper garbage to fly around in the air.
What wind speed is uncomfortable?
Table 1: ComfortSlower than 4 m/s (9 mph)Pedestrian Sitting (considered to be of long duration)6–8 m/s (13–18 mph)Pedestrian Walking8–10 m/s (18–22 mph)Business Walking (objective walking from A to B or for cycling)Faster than 10 m/s (22 mph)Uncomfortable1 more row
Wind Speed Calculator - Wind Calculator | Easy Unit Converter
Wind speed (Knots) Label Effect on sea Effects on land; 1: Calm: Sea like a mirror: Calm. Smoke rises vertically. 1-3: Light Air: Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed, but without foam crests
Wind Speed Converter | Good Calculators
Our free Wind Speed Converter allows you to quickly convert between different wind-speed measurement units (knots, miles per hour, kilometers per hour, meters per second, Beaufort)
The Beaufort Scale | Royal Meteorological Society
About Sir Francis Beaufort. The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort (later Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort), a Royal Navy officer while serving on HMS Woolwich.The scale that carries Beaufort's name had a long and complex evolution from the previous work of others (including Daniel Defoe the century before) to when Beaufort was Hydrographer of the Navy in the ...
Wind Speed Unit Convertor - National Weather Service
Record-breaking Heat Continues; Severe Thunderstorm Shifts to the Northeast. Record-breaking temperatures will persist in the Midwest and Southeast.
What is the Beaufort Scale?
The Beaufort scale is the most common scale for classifying and naming winds according to their speed.
How does the Beaufort Scale work?
The current version of the scale was defined in 1970 with 13 wind speeds. There are 13 classifications in total, ranging from wind force 0 to 12. Based on the wind speed the wind force can be classified in the Beaufort Scale. Thereby the speeds in the Beaufort Scale are divided into ranges.
Beaufort scale with 18 wind speeds
In 1949 the scale was extended by 5 wind forces. So for a while there were 18 wind forces. In this scale the wind force 17 was the highest. However, this variant is no longer used. So you can find the current version of the Beaufort scale in the table before.
What level is a tornado on the Fujita scale?
F1 tornadoes on the Fujita scale and T2 TORRO scale also begin roughly at the end of level 12 of the Beaufort scale, but are independent scales – although the TORRO scale wind values are based on the 3/2 power law relating wind velocity to Beaufort force.
Who invented the weather scale?
The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort (later Rear Admiral ), a Royal Navy officer, while serving on HMS Woolwich. The scale that carries Beaufort's name had a long and complex evolution from the previous work of others (including Daniel Defoe the century before) to when Beaufort was Hydrographer of the Navy in the 1830s when it was adopted officially and first used during the voyage of HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy who was later to set up the first Meteorological Office (Met Office) in Britain giving regular weather forecasts. In the 18th century, naval officers made regular weather observations, but there was no standard scale and so they could be very subjective – one man's "stiff breeze" might be another's "soft breeze". Beaufort succeeded in standardising the scale.
How strong is wind at the surface?
Wind speed usually increases with height above the sea-surface, so winds at the surface are not typically as strong as they are at 10 metres, where wind is measured and forecast by the Bureau. A wind forecast range (for example, 10 to 15 knots) may be given when the wind speed is expected to vary significantly within a coastal area.
When was the wind speed scale first used?
Although the system is old (first developed in 1805 by Sir Francis Beaufort), it remains a widely used system to measure wind speed today. The table below describes what can be expected for each level of the scale and the relationship to the forecast average wind speed values. Sea like a mirror.
What is wind made of?
Wind. Wind is made up of gusts and lulls. The Bureau's forecasts of wind speed and direction are the average of these gusts and lulls , measured over a 10-minute period at a height of 10 metres above sea level. The gusts during any 10-minute period are typically 40% higher than the average wind speed. For example, when the average wind speed is 25 ...
What is wind direction?
The wind direction is based on true north orientation and is the direction the wind is blowing from. For example, a northerly wind is blowing from the north towards the south. Wind speed and direction can be influenced significantly by the local environment. Cliffs and other landscape features will affect winds near the shore.
Is wind stronger in thunderstorms?
Hurricane force warning issued. Remember, wind gusts can be stronger still in the vicinity of thunderstorms and squalls. Gusts from thunderstorms may also come from a different direction than the average wind direction.
Overview
Highest speed
The fastest wind speed not related to tornadoes ever recorded was during the passage of Tropical Cyclone Olivia on 10 April 1996: an automatic weather station on Barrow Island, Australia, registered a maximum wind gust of 113.3 m/s (408 km/h; 253 mph; 220.2 kn; 372 ft/s) The wind gust was evaluated by the WMO Evaluation Panel who found that the anemometer was mechanically sou…
Units
Meters per second (m/s) is the SI unit for velocity and the unit recommended by the World Meteorological Organization for reporting wind speeds, and is amongst others used in weather forecasts in the Nordic countries. Since 2010 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also recommends meters per second for reporting wind speed when approaching runways, replacing their former recommendation of using kilometers per hour (km/h). For historical reason…
Factors affecting wind speed
Wind speed is affected by a number of factors and situations, operating on varying scales (from micro to macro scales). These include the pressure gradient, Rossby waves and jet streams, and local weather conditions. There are also links to be found between wind speed and wind direction, notably with the pressure gradient and terrain conditions.
Pressure gradient is a term to describe the difference in air pressure between two points in the a…
Measurement
An anemometer is one of the tools used to measure wind speed. A device consisting of a vertical pillar and three or four concave cups, the anemometer captures the horizontal movement of air particles (wind speed).
Unlike traditional cup and vane anemometers, ultrasonic wind sensors have no moving parts and are therefore used to measure wind speed in applications th…
Design of structures
Wind speed is a common factor in the design of structures and buildings around the world. It is often the governing factor in the required lateral strength of a structure's design.
In the United States, the wind speed used in design is often referred to as a "3-second gust" which is the highest sustained gust over a 3-second period havin…
See also
• American Society of Civil Engineers (promulgator of ASCE 7-05, current version is ASCE 7-16)
• Beaufort scale
• Fujita scale and Enhanced Fujita Scale
• International Building Code (promulgator of NBC 2005)
External links
• Media related to Wind speed at Wikimedia Commons