Beaufort |
Knots
|
m/s |
km/h |
Description |
Sea conditions |
Land conditions |
0 |
0 - 1 |
0 - 0,2 |
0 - 1 |
Calm |
Flat |
Calm. Smoke rises vertically. |
1 |
1 - 3 |
0,3 - 1,5 |
1 - 5,9 |
Light air |
Ripples without crests. |
Smoke drift indicates wind direction. Leaves and wind vanes are stationary. |
2 |
4 - 6 |
1,6 - 3,3 |
6 - 11,9 |
Light breeze |
Small wavelets. Crests of glassy appearance, not breaking |
Wind felt on exposed skin. Leaves rustle. Wind vanes begin to move. |
3 |
7 - 10 |
3,4 - 5,4 |
12 - 19,9 |
Gentle breeze |
Large wavelets. Crests begin to break; scattered whitecaps |
Leaves and small twigs constantly moving, light flags extended. |
4 |
11 - 15 |
5,5 - 7,9 |
20 - 28,9 |
Moderate breeze |
Small waves with breaking crests. Fairly frequent whitecaps. |
Dust and loose paper raised. Small branches begin to move. |
5 |
16 - 21 |
8,0 - 10,7 |
29 - 38,9 |
Fresh breeze |
Moderate waves of some length. Many whitecaps. Small amounts of spray. |
Branches of a moderate size move. Small trees in leaf begin to sway. |
6 |
22 - 27 |
10,8 - 13,8 |
39 - 49,9 |
Strong breeze |
Long waves begin to form. White foam crests are very frequent. Some airborne spray is present. |
Large branches in motion. Whistling heard in overhead wires. Umbrella use becomes difficult. Empty plastic bins tip over. |
7 |
28 - 33 |
13,9 - 17,1 |
50 - 61,9 |
High wind, moderate gale, near gale |
Sea heaps up. Some foam from breaking waves is blown into streaks along wind direction. Moderate amounts of airborne spray. |
Whole trees in motion. Effort needed to walk against the wind. |
8 |
34 - 40 |
17,2 - 20,7 |
62 - 74,9 |
Gale, fresh gale |
Moderately high waves with breaking crests forming spindrift. Well-marked streaks of foam are blown along wind direction. Considerable airborne spray. |
Some twigs broken from trees. Cars veer on road. Progress on foot is seriously impeded. |
9 |
41 - 47 |
20,8 - 24,4 |
75 - 88,9 |
Strong gale |
High waves whose crests sometimes roll over. Dense foam is blown along wind direction. Large amounts of airborne spray may begin to reduce visibility. |
Some branches break off trees, and some small trees blow over. Construction/temporary signs and barricades blow over. |
10 |
48 - 55 |
24,5 - 28,4 |
89 - 102 |
Storm, whole gale |
Very high waves with overhanging crests. Large patches of foam from wave crests give the sea a white appearance. Considerable tumbling of waves with heavy impact. Large amounts of airborne spray reduce visibility. |
Trees are broken off or uprooted, structural damage likely. |
11 |
56 - 63 |
28,5 - 32,6 |
103 - 117 |
Violent storm |
Exceptionally high waves. Very large patches of foam, driven before the wind, cover much of the sea surface. Very large amounts of airborne spray severely reduce visibility. |
Widespread vegetation and structural damage likely. |
12 |
64 - 71 |
32,7 - 36,9 |
118 - 133 |
Hurricane force |
Huge waves. Sea is completely white with foam and spray. Air is filled with driving spray, greatly reducing visibility. |
Severe widespread damage to vegetation and structures. Debris and unsecured objects are hurled about. |