BEAUFORT'S WIND SCALE AND SEA DISTURBANCE TABLE

MUELLER MARITIME, INC.

Coast to Coast & Ocean to Ocean

*The Beaufort wind force scale extends to force 17 (up to 118 knots), but force 12 is the highest  which can be identified from the appearance of the sea.

** In meters.

How strong is a 40 mph wind anyway?

You might assume that the force or destructive capabilities of a wind increases

equally with its velocity. But although the speed of a 40 mph wind is twice that of a 20 mph wind, its force is equal to that two times squared (2 x 2), meaning that a 40 mph wind is four times more powerful than a 20 mph wind. If a 30 mph wind is three times faster than a 10 mph wind, its force is that  three time squared (3 x 3), making it nine times more powerful than the 10 mph wind. This makes a 40 mph wind sixteen times more powerful than a 10 mph wind.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Force        Speed        Descriptive                                                                                     Mean Height of

Beaufort* in Knots  Terms       Sea Criterion                                      Waves**

0                less than 1       Calm           Sea like a mirror.                                                        ------ 

1                    1-3             Light Air        Ripples with the appearance of scales                    0.1(0.1)

2                    4-6           Light Breeze    Small wavelets, more pronounced crests               0.2(0.3)

3                   7-10         Gentle Breeze   Large wavelets, crests begin to break                    0.6(1.0)

4                  11-16     ModerateBreeze  Small waves, becoming longer                               1.0(1.5)

5                  17-21       Fresh Breeze     Moderate waves, more pronounced                        2.0(2.5)

6                  22-27      Strong Breeze    Large waves form, white foam crests                      3.0(4.0)

7                  28-33          Near Gale       Sea heaps up, breaking waves begin                     4.0(5.5)

8                  34-40              Gale            Moderately high waves of greater length               5.5(7.5)

9                  41-47        Strong Gale       High Waves, dense streaks of foam                     7.0(10.0)

10                48-55             Storm           Very high waves w/long overhanging streaks       9.0(12.5)

11                56-63        Violent Storm   Exceptionally high waves, ships lost from view   11.0(16.0)

12                64-71          Hurricane     Air filled w/foam&spray;visibilty seriously affected  14&over

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