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Wind Facts

Knots Bft. m/s km/h Label Effect on sea
1 0 0 - 0,2 1 Calm Sea like a mirror
1-3 1 0,3-1,5 1-5
Light Air Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed, but without foam crests
4-6 2 1,6-3,3 6-11 Light Breeze Small wavelets, still short, but more pronounced. Crests have a glassy appearance and do not break
7-10 3 3,4-5,4 12-19 Gentle Breeze Large wavelets. Crests begin to break. Foam of glassy appearance. Perhaps scattered white horses
11-15 4 5,5-7,9 20-28 Moderate Breeze Small waves, becoming larger; fairly frequent white horses
16-21 5 8,0-10,7 29-38 Fresh Breeze Moderate waves, taking a more pronounced long form; many white horses are formed. Chance of some spray
22-27 6 10,8-13,8 39-49 Strong Breeze Large waves begin to form; the white foam crests are more extensive everywhere. Probably some spray
28-33 7 13,9-17,1 50-61 Near Gale Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks along the direction of the wind
34-40 8 17,2-20,7 62-74 Gale Moderately high waves of greater length; edges of crests begin to break into spindrift. The foam is blown in well-marked streaks along the direction of the wind
41-47 9 20,8-24,4 75-88 Severe Gale High waves. Dense streaks of foam along the direction of the wind. Crests of waves begin to topple, tumble and roll over. Spray may affect visibility
48-55 10 24,5-28,4 89-102 Storm Very high waves with long over-hanging crests. The resulting foam, in great patches, is blown in dense white streaks along the direction of the wind. On the whole the surface of the sea takes on a white appearance. The 'tumbling' of the sea becomes heavy and shock-like. Visibility affected
56-63 11 28,5-32,6 103-117 Violent Storm Exceptionally high waves (small and medium-size ships might be for a time lEast to view behind the waves). The sea is completely covered with long white patches of foam lying along the direction of the wind. Everywhere the edges of the wave crests are blown into froth. Visibility affected
64-71 12> 32,7-36,9 118-133 Hurricane The air is filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white with driving spray; visibility very seriously affected


Abbreviation Wind direction. Degrees Wind Rose
N North North
NNE NorthNorthEast 22.5° North North East
NE NorthEast 45° North East
ENE EastNorthEast 67.5° East North East
E East 90° East
ESE EastSouthEast 112.5° East South East
SE SouthEast 135° South East
SSE SouthSouthEast 157.5° South South East
S South 180° South
SSW SouthSouthwest 202.5° South South West
SW Southwest 225° South West
WSW WestSouthwest 247.5° West South West
W West 270° West
WNW WestNorthwest 292.5° West North West
NW Northwest 315° North West
NNW NorthNorthwest 337.5° North North West



Wind Facts
One of the first scales to estimate wind speeds and the effects was created by Britain's Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857). He developed the scale in 1805 to help sailors estimate the winds via visual observations. The scale starts with 0 and goes to a force of 12. The Beaufort scale is still used today to estimate wind strengths.
For use on land
For use at sea

Force Equivalent 10 m above miles/hour Speed ground knots Description Specifications For Use On Land
0 0-1 0-1 Calm Calm; smoke rises verticall.
1 1-3 1-3 Light air Direction of wind shown by smoke drift, but not by wind vanes.
2 4-7 4-6 Light Breeze Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; ordinary vanes moved by wind.
3 8-12 7-10 Gentle Breeze Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag.
4 13-18 11-16 Moderate Breeze Raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved.
5 19-24 17-21 Fresh Breeze Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters.
6 25-31 22-27 Strong Breeze Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty.
7 32-38 28-33 Near Gale Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against the wind.
8 39-46 34-40 Gale Breaks twigs off trees; generally impedes progress.
9 47-54 41-47 Severe Gale Slight structural damage occurs (chimney-pots and slates removed).
10 55-63 48-55 Storm Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage occurs.
11 64-72 56-63 Violent Storm Very rarely experienced; accompanied by wide-spread damage.
12 73-83 64-71 Hurricane --


Force Equivalent 10 m above miles/hour Speed ground knots Description Specifications Use For Sea
0 0-1 0-1 Calm Sea like a mirror
1 1-3 1-3 Light air Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed, but without foam crests.
2 4-7 4-6 Light Breeze Small wavelets, still short, but more pronounced. Crests have a glassy appearance and do not break.
3 8-12 7-10 Gentle Breeze Large wavelets. Crests begin to break. Foam of glassy appearance. Perhaps scattered white horses.
4 13-18 11-16 Moderate Breeze Small waves, becoming larger; fairly frequent white horses.
5 19-24 17-21 Fresh Breeze Moderate waves, taking a more pronounced long form; many white horses are formed. Chance of some spray.
6 25-31 22-27 Strong Breeze Large waves begin to form; the white foam crests are more extensive everywhere. Probably some spray.
7 32-38 28-33 Near Gale Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks along the direction of the wind.
8 39-46 34-40 Gale Moderately high waves of greater length; edges of crests begin to breakinto spindrift. The foam is blown in well-marked streaks along the direction of the wind.
9 47-54 41-47 Severe Gale High waves. Dense streaks of foam along the direction of the wind. Crests of waves begin to topple, tumble and roll over. Spray may affect visibility.
10 55-63 48-55 Storm Very high waves with long over-hanging crests. The resulting foam, in great patches, is blown in dense white streaks along the direction of the wind. On the whole the surface of the sea takes on a white appearance. The 'tumbling' of the sea becomes heavy and shock-like. Visibility affected.
11 64-72 56-63 Violent Storm Exceptionally high waves (small and medium-size ships might be for a time lost to view behind the waves). The sea is completely covered with long white patches of foam lying along the direction of the wind. Everywhere the edges of the wave crests are blown into froth. Visibility affected.
12 73-83 64-71 Hurricane The air is filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white with driving spray; visibility very seriously affected.

Montreal Windsurfing Guide