The Beaufort wind scale, animated
Move the slider from Force 0 to Force 12 and watch what the wind does to a tree, a flag and the sea. Or type a wind speed in mph, km/h, knots or metres per second to see which Beaufort number it is, and what people on land and at sea would notice.
Where the scale comes from
Francis Beaufort devised the scale in 1805 as a Royal Navy officer, describing wind by its effect on a ship’s sails rather than by a measured speed. The land and sea descriptions used today were added later, and the wind speed ranges were attached in the twentieth century. Forecasters still use it in shipping forecasts and gale warnings.
RushOrb is a one-thumb 3D adventure where you switch the weather yourself, Frost, Blaze or Gale, to roll your critter orb through each storm level.
Free on the App StoreQuestions
What wind speed is a gale?
Force 8, a gale, is 34 to 40 knots, about 39 to 46 mph or 63 to 74 km/h. Force 9 is a strong gale and Force 10 a storm.
What is the highest Beaufort number?
Force 12, hurricane force, is 64 knots (about 73 mph or 118 km/h) and above. Some countries extend the scale beyond 12 for typhoons, but 12 is the standard top.
Are the speeds exact?
The scale uses ranges of average wind speed at 10 metres above open ground. Gusts can be much stronger than the average.
Is there a weather game for kids?
RushOrb is our one-thumb 3D adventure where switching between frost, blaze and gale weather is how you clear each level.
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- RushOrb Weather Guide: Practice Frost, Blaze and GaleLearn three RushOrb weather rules with six untimed obstacle cards. Get explanations, retry a choice, and then explore the full iPhone game.
- Rolling Sky alternative with no adsRolling Sky is a famous rolling ball game set to music. RushOrb lets you switch the weather to reshape the course, with no ads and offline play.