Wind can make a huge difference to our weather depending upon it’s speed or strength and which direction it is coming from.
Wind Speed
Wind speed can be measured using a number of scales.
| Beaufort | m/s | mph | km/h | knots | Description |
| 1 | 0.5 – 1.8 | 1 – 3 | 1.9 – 6.4 | 1 – 3 | light air |
| 2 | 1.9 – 3.3 | 4 – 7 | 6.5 – 12.0 | 4 – 6 | light breeze |
| 3 | 3.4 – 5.4 | 8 – 12 | 12.1 – 19.4 | 7 – 10 | gentle breeze |
| 4 | 5.5 – 7.9 | 13 – 17 | 19.5 – 28.7 | 11 – 15 | breeze |
| 5 | 8.0 – 11.0 | 18 – 24 | 28.8 – 39.8 | 16 – 21 | fresh breeze |
| 6 | 11.1 – 14.1 | 25 – 31 | 39.9 – 50.9 | 22 – 27 | strong breeze |
| 7 | 14.2 – 17.2 | 32 – 38 | 51.0 – 62.0 | 28 – 33 | near gale |
| 8 | 17.3 – 20.8 | 39 – 46 | 62.1 – 75.0 | 34 – 40 | gale |
| 9 | 20.9 – 24.4 | 47 – 54 | 75.1 – 87.9 | 41 – 47 | strong gale |
| 10 | 24.5 – 28.5 | 55 – 63 | 88.0 – 102.8 | 48 – 55 | storm |
| 11 | 28.6 – 32.6 | 64 – 72 | 102.9 – 117.6 | 56 – 63 | violent storm |
| 12 | > 32.6 | 73 – 82 | > 117.6 | > 63 | hurricane |
- What can you find out about the Beaufort Scale?
- What is a knot?
- How would you measure wind speed?
- How does wind speed affect the weather?
Wind Direction
We measure wind direction as the direction from which the wind is coming from.
- What would you use to measure wind direction?
- How does wind direction affect the weather?