Beaufort Wind Scale
Look up the Beaufort wind scale — from calm to hurricane — and what each force looks like.
Reading the wind without a gauge
The Beaufort scale describes wind strength in numbered forces, from zero for calm to twelve for hurricane, each tied to a wind speed and, cleverly, to what you can actually observe. This is a guide to the scale, so you can match a force number to a speed, or estimate the wind from what the trees and sea are doing.
Find a force and see its speed and telltale signs.
Designed to be seen, not measured
The genius of the Beaufort scale is that it was built to judge wind by its visible effects, back before anemometers were common, and those descriptions still work beautifully. Leaves rustling, then whole branches moving, then trees swaying and finally being uprooted; on water, ripples building to white horses and then towering waves. That means you can estimate the wind force just by looking, which is why it endures in sailing and forecasting. Matching what you see to a force number gives a genuine sense of conditions without any instrument.
Questions & answers
What does the Beaufort scale measure?
Wind strength, from force 0 for calm to force 12 for hurricane, each tied to a speed range and observable effects.
Can I estimate wind force just by looking?
Yes — that is the point of it. The scale describes what leaves, branches, trees and water do at each force, so you can judge by eye.
Is anything uploaded?
No. It is a reference that runs in your browser.