Current Coastal Wind Speed & Direction — Mid Atlantic Coast
Source NOAA National Weather Service NWS
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Current Coastal Wind Gust — Mid Atlantic Coast
Source NOAA National Weather Service NWS
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Current Sea Surface Temps and Wind — Central East Coast
Source Weather Underground
Current Surface Wind Speed Animation — US
Source Weather Underground
Current Surface Wind Speed — Central East Coast
Source Weather Underground
Current Surface Wind Speed Animation — Central East Coast
Source Weather Underground
Wind Speed Conversion Table
Beaufort History:
The Beaufort scale was long in use as a system for estimating wind speeds. It was introduced in 1806 by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) of the British Navy to describe wind effects on a fully rigged Man-o'-War sailing vessel, and it was later extended to include descriptions of effects on land features as well. Today the accepted international practice is to report wind speed in knots (1 knot equals about 1.85 kilometre per hour or 1.15 miles per hour).
The Beaufort scale is divided into a series of values, from 0 for calm winds to 12 and above for hurricanes. Each value represents a specific range and classification of wind speeds with accompanying descriptions of the effects on surface features, as follows:
Wind Speed Categories as defined by
NOAA
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service)
Gale force = 39 - 54 mph
Tropical Storm force = 55 - 73 mph
Hurricane = 74+ mph
| Beaufort * |
mph |
>kmh |
Knots |
m/s |
Surroundings ** |
| 0 (calm) |
0 - 1.1 |
0 - 1 |
0 - 1 |
0 - 0,2 |
Smoke rises vertically and the see is mirror smooth |
| 1 (light air) |
1.2 - 3 |
2 - 5 |
2 - 3 |
0,3 - 1,5 |
Smokes moves slightly with breeze and shows direction of wind |
| 2 (light breeze) |
3.7 – 7.5 |
6 – 12 |
4 - 6 |
1,6 - 3,3 |
You can feel wind on your face and hear the leaves start to rustle |
| 3 (gentle breeze) |
8 – 12.5 |
13 – 20 |
7 - 10 |
3,4 - 5,4 |
Smoke will move horizontally and small branches start to sway. Wind extends a light flag |
| 4 (moderate breeze) |
13 – 18.6 |
21 – 30 |
11 - 16 |
5,5 - 7,9 |
Loose dust or sand on the ground will move and larger branches will sway, loose paper blows around, and fairly frequent whitecaps occur |
| 5 (fresh breeze) |
19.3 - 25 |
31 – 40 |
17 - 21 |
8,0 - 10,7 |
Surface waves form on water and small trees sway |
| 6 (strong breeze) |
25.5 - 31 |
41 - 50 |
22 - 27 |
10,8 - 13,8 |
Trees begin to bend with the force of the wind and causes whistling in telephone wires and some spray on the sea surface |
| 7 (moderate gale) |
32 - 38 |
51 - 61 |
28 - 33 |
13,9 - 17,1 |
Large trees sway. |
| 8 (fresh gale) |
39 - 46 |
62 - 74 |
34 - 40 |
17,2 - 20,7 |
Twigs break from trees, and long streaks of foam appear on the ocean. |
| 9 (strong gale) |
47 - 55 |
75 - 89 |
41 - 47 |
20,8 - 24,4 |
Branches break from trees. |
| 10 (whole gale) |
56 - 64 |
90 - 103 |
48 - 55 |
24,5 - 28,4 |
Trees are uprooted, and the sea takes on a white appearance. |
| 11 (storm) |
65 - 74 |
104 - 119 |
56 - 63 |
28,5 - 32,6 |
Widespread damage. |
| 12 (hurricane) |
75 + |
120 + |
64 + |
32,7 + |
Structural damage on land and storm waves at sea. |
| * |
This empirical relation between windforce, estimated on the Beaufort-scale, and the windspeed is based on the 10 minute average of the windspeed. In reality, windspeeds can vary a lot in that time. As a result, windgusts can not be measured with the Beaufort-scale. Windspeeds are now generally measured with anemometers, which continuously record the momentary windspeed, i.e. windgusts, that can vary a great deal from a 10 minute average windspeed an therefore bear no relations to the Beaufort-scale. |
| ** |
Windforce measured in Beaufort-values is not an objective observation of windspeed, but rather a subjective one, based on the impact of the wind on the environment. |
Wind Speed Conversion Calculator
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