Beaufort wind scale for land areas
- Make your observations in an open location, e.g. school field.
- Use the scale below to estimate wind speed.
- Enter CALM if there is no wind.
Wind Force | Description | Speed | Specifications | |
kph | knots | |||
0 | Calm | 0 | 0 | Smoke rises vertically |
1 | Light Air | 1-5 | 1-3 | Direction shown by smoke drift but not by wind vanes |
2 | Light Breeze | 6-11 | 4-6 | Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; wind vane moved by wind |
3 | Gentle Breeze | 12-19 | 7-10 | Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; light flags extended |
4 | Moderate Breeze | 20-28 | 11-16 | Raises dust and loose paper; small branches moved. |
5 | Fresh Breeze | 29-38 | 17-21 | Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters. |
6 | Strong Breeze | 38-49 | 22-27 | Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty. |
7 | Near Gale | 50-61 | 28-33 | Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against the wind. |
8 | Gale | 62-74 | 34-40 | Twigs break off trees; generally impedes progress. |
9 | Strong Gale | 75-88 | 41-47 | Slight structural damage (chimney pots and slates removed). |
10 | Storm | 89-102 | 48-55 | Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage |
11 | Violent Storm | 103-117 | 56-63 | Very rarely experienced; accompanied by widespread damage. |
12 | Hurricane | 118 plus | 64 plus | Devastation |