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.

Beaufort Scale

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.
Weather vane still inactive.

Small ripples on surface.

2 - 6

1 - 3

2

Leaves Rustle.
You can feel the wind on your face.
Weather vane is still inactive.

Small glassy wavelets.

6 - 11

4 - 7

3

Leaves and Twigs move around.
Light weight flags extend.

Large wavelets.
Some white caps.

12 - 19

8 - 11

4

Thin branches move.
Wind may raise dust and paper.

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.
Exposed wire may whistle.

Large waves. All white caps.
Some spray.

40 - 50

25-31

7

Large trees sway.
Resistance felt when walking.

Seas heap up the waves.
Some foam streaks off 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