The Beaufort Scale.

[Snowyowl9]

Not too sure where to post this but this has always interested me.

This is the original scale.

0 Calm Less than 1 Smoke rises vertically.

1 Light air 1-3 Direction shown by smoke,but not by wind vanes.

2 Light breeze 4-7 Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; vane moved by wind.

3.Gentle breeze 8-12 Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag.

4.Moderate breeze 13-18 Raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved.

5.Fresh breeze 19-24 Small trees in leaf begin to sway.

6.Strong breeze 25-31 Large branches in motion;umbrellas used with difficulty(in other words they`ll turn inside out :lol: )

7.Moderate gale 32-38 Whole trees in motion;inconveniance felt when walking against wind.

8.Fresh gale 39-46 Breaks twigs off trees;generally impedes progress.

9.Strong gale 47-54 Slight structural damage; chimney-pots and slates removed.

10.Whole gale 55-63 Trees uprooted; considerable structual damage.

11.Storm 64-75 Widespread damage; very rarely experienced.

12.Hurricane above75 Countryside is devastated.

But I`ve seen this today.

Which one do they use now?

:lol:

S9

Edit: I got the original from an old observer`s book.

Edited September 2, 2006 by Snowyowl9

[johnholmes]

only had a quick glance at the second one but F7 and F10 quote exactly the same speeds.

The first one is, as far as I am aware, the official one used by the Met Office. Someone may correct me on that!

John

[Nick F]

Here's a Met Office page on the Beaufort Scale:

http://www.metoffice.com/education/seconda...s/beaufort.html

[Snowyowl9]

Where do they get that scale from then on the link I put up?

As the 1st one shows a gale starts at 32mph.

This 2nd shows a gale starting at 39mph.

A storm starts at 64mph on the 1st.

But the 2nd starts at 55mph.

That`s just too confusing then there`s a violent storm which is new

There`r confusing a whole gale with a storm,although a whole gale would definately seem like a storm :lol:

I`ll go by the old one,but I`ll keep that anyway.

What does everyone else think about it all?

:lol:

S9.

Edited September 2, 2006 by Snowyowl9

[JRMcLeod]

Surely tho it aint very accurate...if you get a fresh gale to strong gale when the trees are in full bloom then there is a chance they could be blown over...it wouldnt need to be a whole gale??? Are these measurements for sustained wind speeds?? We often get gusts that fast that dont do damage!!

[coldfingers]

Where do they get that scale from then on the link I put up?

As the 1st one shows a gale starts at 32mph.

This 2nd shows a gale starting at 39mph.

A storm starts at 64mph on the 1st.

But the 2nd starts at 55mph.

That`s just too confusing then there`s a violent storm which is new

There`r confusing a whole gale with a storm,although a whole gale would definately seem like a storm

I`ll go by the old one,but I`ll keep that anyway.

What does everyone else think about it all?

S9.

Interesting as I have heard force 7 gales spoken off on some news items. it annoys me intensely!!!!! When I was a youngster and also not so young a gale was always force 8 also the shipping forecast always calls a gale when it reaches force 8 not 7.

Edited September 2, 2006 by coldfingers

[Snowyowl9]

Surely tho it aint very accurate...if you get a fresh gale to strong gale when the trees are in full bloom then there is a chance they could be blown over...it wouldnt need to be a whole gale??? Are these measurements for sustained wind speeds?? We often get gusts that fast that dont do damage!!

Yes they are measurements for sustained wind speeds.

It`s the gusts that do the damage especially when you get heavy squally showers in the mix then the wind can reach damaging speeds then.

A fresh to strong gale is rare when the trees are in full leaf but it does happen,it can do alot of damage to trees at those speeds but in the winter not much.

Hope that helps.

Coldfingers the wind today was classed as a gale if it blow at 37sustained(gusted to 48) so that be strong gale force gust

And I see today that 40mph sustained winds in north wales/s.w coasts so that would be classed as a fresh gale(what the bbc say a severe gale) so today turned out to be very windy in places for the time of year.

S9

[VillagePlank]

Did you know . . .

Admiral Beaufort made his name (in his day), not because his development of a scale we use today, but by inventing and implementing techniques for mapping the British Empire.

[johnholmes]

gusts do in fact do the major damage in gale, severe gale or storm force winds.

In any wind speed there are lulls and gusts. In the lull there is a pressure drop and a rise as a gust hits. The very rapid and quite largish pressure changes are what does the damage. For instance, tiles being lifted off roofs, the lull(pressure drop) tends to lift then and then the gust whips them off.

So I was told by a buliding and civil engineer many years ago.

John

[sunnijim]

only had a quick glance at the second one but F7 and F10 quote exactly the same speeds.

The first one is, as far as I am aware, the official one used by the Met Office. Someone may correct me on that!

John

Yes,the first one is the scale we use for our Observations,that get sent to the M.O

[JRMcLeod]

gusts do in fact do the major damage in gale, severe gale or storm force winds.

In any wind speed there are lulls and gusts. In the lull there is a pressure drop and a rise as a gust hits. The very rapid and quite largish pressure changes are what does the damage. For instance, tiles being lifted off roofs, the lull(pressure drop) tends to lift then and then the gust whips them off.

So I was told by a buliding and civil engineer many years ago.

John

Ha now thats something i have learnt today...now i know...thanks for that!!

[Bilz]

I've always preffered to term forces 7 to 11 as follows:

7. Moderate gale

8. Gale

9. Severe Gale

10. Storm

11. Violent Storm

I mean what's the 'fresh' and 'whole' about in describing the strength of a gale? Sounds kinda stupid don't it. I know both ways are acceptable tho

Remember the scale continues up to 17 to incorporate the five categories of hurricane as described by the Saffir Simpson Scale.

[coldfingers]

gusts do in fact do the major damage in gale, severe gale or storm force winds.

In any wind speed there are lulls and gusts. In the lull there is a pressure drop and a rise as a gust hits. The very rapid and quite largish pressure changes are what does the damage. For instance, tiles being lifted off roofs, the lull(pressure drop) tends to lift then and then the gust whips them off.

So I was told by a buliding and civil engineer many years ago.

John

That explains I suppose why I can tell if a storm is really bad by my loft hatch door being lifted and dropped back wonky.

[Snowyowl9]

I've always preffered to term forces 7 to 11 as follows:

7. Moderate gale

8. Gale

9. Severe Gale

10. Storm

11. Violent Storm

I mean what's the 'fresh' and 'whole' about in describing the strength of a gale? Sounds kinda stupid don't it. I know both ways are acceptable tho

Remember the scale continues up to 17 to incorporate the five categories of hurricane as described by the Saffir Simpson Scale.

Do you know where this scale`s come from though?

I`ve deleted this from my controls and it`s vanished in my 1st post in this thread so I`ve put back here instead.

S9

S9

[Gibli]

There is some confusion over the Beaufort scale which has changed slightly over the years and yes it is very annoying to hear of force 6 or 7 gales.

<<Do you know where this scale`s come from though?>>

It looks like it was adapted from the World Met Organisation manual on codes, which is the current official version. Download the following (large) file and look on page 430 for the complete details

http://www.wmo.ch/web/www/WMOCodes/ManualC...ol-I-1PartA.pdf

To confuse things more, by convention (in the UK at least) force 3 is referred to as 'light', force 7 as 'strong' and force 9 as 'severe gale'.

[Polar Bear]

I have always remebered the Beaufort Scale ever since I was knee high. This is because my family are sailors and this is what we were always taught. Think all then the force references do stem from the mariners use and the shipping forecast. I can only think in Forces when there is good breeze. Generally above a 7 we wouldnt go out in the boat, as it was verging on gale and things would get hairy! Inland though things are very different...a good 8 on the coast can be a six inland...

Not too sure where to post this but this has always interested me.

This is the original scale.

0 Calm Less than 1 Smoke rises vertically.

1 Light air 1-3 Direction shown by smoke,but not by wind vanes.

2 Light breeze 4-7 Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; vane moved by wind.

3.Gentle breeze 8-12 Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag.

4.Moderate breeze 13-18 Raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved.

5.Fresh breeze 19-24 Small trees in leaf begin to sway.

6.Strong breeze 25-31 Large branches in motion;umbrellas used with difficulty(in other words they`ll turn inside out )

7.Moderate gale 32-38 Whole trees in motion;inconveniance felt when walking against wind.

8.Fresh gale 39-46 Breaks twigs off trees;generally impedes progress.

9.Strong gale 47-54 Slight structural damage; chimney-pots and slates removed.

10.Whole gale 55-63 Trees uprooted; considerable structual damage.

11.Storm 64-75 Widespread damage; very rarely experienced.

12.Hurricane above75 Countryside is devastated.

But I`ve seen this today.

Which one do they use now?

S9

Edit: I got the original from an old observer`s book.

when you are out a sea on the coast..you can get the whole fresh and whole thing as ways of a gale. I quite like the beaufort scale... as to which one used now..I think everyone seems to have developed their own..

[Snowyowl9]

There is some confusion over the Beaufort scale which has changed slightly over the years and yes it is very annoying to hear of force 6 or 7 gales.

<<Do you know where this scale`s come from though?>>

It looks like it was adapted from the World Met Organisation manual on codes, which is the current official version. Download the following (large) file and look on page 430 for the complete details

http://www.wmo.ch/web/www/WMOCodes/ManualC...ol-I-1PartA.pdf

To confuse things more, by convention (in the UK at least) force 3 is referred to as 'light', force 7 as 'strong' and force 9 as 'severe gale'.

I always thought there was 2 different scales so it`s rather confusing to say the least.

I`ll agree on force 9 as severe gale.

That link is too large,I`m not on broadband though.

S9.

Edited September 4, 2006 by Snowyowl9

[Guest Viking141]

Heres the one we use in HMCG and is also the METO one:

0 0-1kts Calm

1 1-3kts Light airs

2 4-6kts Light breeze

3 7-10kts Gentle breeze

4 11-16kts Moderate breeze

5 17-21kts Fresh breeze

6 22-27kts Strong breeze

7 28-33kts Near gale

8 34-40kts Gale

9 41-47kts Severe gale

10 48-55kts Storm

11 56-63kts Violent storm

12 64kts + Hurricane

Obviously this is the one used for the Shipping Forecast, inshore waters fx etc. They make us learn these, the timings (i.e. imminent, soon, later) the vis states (good, moderate, poor & fog) the progression of pressure systems (slowly, steadily, quickly, rapidly and very rapidly) etc off by heart. In fact I get examined in all this stuff in about a month and a halfs time as part of my final Coastguard exam so Im busy studying!