Beaufort Scale
BEAUFORT SCALE, a series of numbers from 0 to 12 arranged by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) in 1805, to indicate the strength of the wind from a calm, force 0, to a hurricane, force 12, with sailing directions such as "5, smacks shorten sails" for coast purposes, and "royals, etc., 'full and by'" for the open sea. An exhaustive report was made in 1906 by the Meteorological Office on the relation between the estimates of wind-force according to Beaufort's scale and the velocities recorded by anemometers belonging to the office, from which the following table is taken: -
Beaufort scale. Corresponding wind. Limits of hourly
velocity.
Numbers. Miles per hour.
0 Calm Under 2
1-3 Light breeze 2-12
4-5 Moderate wind 13-23
6-7 Strong wind 24-37
8-9 Gale 38-55
10-11 Storm 56-75
12 Hurricane Above 75
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
