For the pilots who may be concerned about what we are talking about when we say it is a 2 or 3 this is the real scale made by someone with too much time. For everyone else this scale is used in the soaring world to define the wind speed in a easy to use format.
Winds are characterized by their strength and direction.
Their strength being measured in Km/h or mph and is expressed in a very practical and descriptive manner which is the Beaufort Scale.
Scale |
Land description |
Sea description |
km/h |
mph |
0 |
Still Air. Smoke rises vertically. |
Mirror-like water surface. |
0 - 1 |
0 |
1 |
Rising Smoke drifts. |
Small ripples on surface. |
2 - 6 |
1 - 3 |
2 |
Leaves Rustle. |
Small glassy wavelets. |
6 - 11 |
4 - 7 |
3 |
Leaves and Twigs move around. |
Large wavelets. |
12 - 19 |
8 - 11 |
4 |
Thin branches move. |
Small waves. Frequent white caps. |
20 - 30 |
12 - 18 |
5 |
Small trees sway. |
Moderate waves. Many white caps. Some spray possible. |
31 - 39 |
19-24 |
6 |
Large tree branches move. |
Large waves. All white caps. |
40 - 50 |
25-31 |
7 |
Large trees sway. |
Seas heap up the waves. |
51 - 61 |
32-38 |
8 |
Walking impossible |
Extremely high waves |
62-74 |
39-46 |
9 |
Tiles are detached from rooftops |
Violent storm and fly waves like mountain. |
75-88 |
47-54 |
10 |
Trees are uprooted. Objects become detached |
Visibility difficult. |
89-102 |
55-63 |
11 |
Extensive damage |
Huge waves |
103-117 |
64-72 |
12 |
Severe damage |
Violent cyclones |
118 + |
74 |