(Knots)
Classification
| Force | Wind (Knots) |
WMO Classification |
Appearance of Wind Effects | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On Land | On the Water | Image | |||
| 0 | Less than 1 | Calm | Calm, smoke rises vertically | Sea surface smooth and mirror-like | |
| 1 | 1-3 | Light Air | Scaly ripples, no foam crests | Smoke drift indicates wind direction, still wind vanes | |
| 2 | 4-6 | Light Breeze | Wind felt on face, leaves rustle, vanes begin to move | Small wavelets, crests glassy, no breaking | |
| 3 | 7-10 | Gentle Breeze | Leaves and small twigs constantly moving, light flags extended | Large wavelets, crests begin to break, scattered whitecaps | |
| 4 | 11-16 | Moderate Breeze | Dust, leaves, and loose paper lifted, small tree branches move | Small waves 1-4 ft. becoming longer, numerous whitecaps | |
| 5 | 17-21 | Fresh Breeze | Small trees in leaf begin to sway | Moderate waves 4-8 ft taking longer form, many whitecaps, some spray | |
| 6 | 22-27 | Strong Breeze | Larger tree branches moving, whistling in wires | Larger waves 8-13 ft, whitecaps common, more spray | |
| 7 | 28-33 | Near Gale | Whole trees moving, resistance felt walking against wind | Sea heaps up, waves 13-20 ft, white foam streaks off breakers | |
| 8 | 34-40 | Gale | Whole trees in motion, resistance felt walking against wind | Moderately high (13-20 ft) waves of greater length, edges of crests begin to break into spindrift, foam blown in streaks | |
| 9 | 41-47 | Strong Gale | Slight structural damage occurs, slate blows off roofs | High waves (20 ft), sea begins to roll, dense streaks of foam, spray may reduce visibility | |
| 10 | 48-55 | Storm | Seldom experienced on land, trees broken or uprooted, "considerable structural damage" | Very high waves (20-30 ft) with overhanging crests, sea white with densely blown foam, heavy rolling, lowered visibility | |
| 11 | 56-63 | Violent Storm | Exceptionally high (30-45 ft) waves, foam patches cover sea, visibility more reduced | |
|
| 12 | 64+ | Hurricane | Air filled with foam, waves over 45 ft, sea completely white with driving spray, visibility greatly reduced | |
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