Beaufort Wind Scale

Beaufort number, knots, km/h and sea-state description.

#NameKnotskm/hSea state
0 Calm 0–1 0–1 Sea like a mirror
1 Light air 1–3 2–5 Ripples
2 Light breeze 4–6 6–11 Small wavelets
3 Gentle breeze 7–10 12–19 Large wavelets, scattered whitecaps
4 Moderate breeze 11–16 20–28 Small waves, many whitecaps
5 Fresh breeze 17–21 29–38 Moderate waves, many whitecaps
6 Strong breeze 22–27 39–49 Large waves, spray
7 Near gale 28–33 50–61 Sea heaps up, foam blown in streaks
8 Gale 34–40 62–74 Moderately high waves
9 Strong gale 41–47 75–88 High waves, dense foam
10 Storm 48–55 89–102 Very high waves, sea white
11 Violent storm 56–63 103–117 Exceptionally high waves
12 Hurricane 64–∞ 118–∞ Air filled with foam; visibility severely impaired

About this tool

Reference for the 0–12 Beaufort scale of wind speed with knots, km/h ranges and the qualitative sea state.

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