Looking a bit stormy?

Though this has little to do with the business of real estate, for those of us who like to look out the window from time to time you may find this interesting.

Beaufort Scales (Wind Speed)

Force	Speed			Name	Conditions at Sea	Conditions on Land
	knots	km/h	mi/h
0	<>	<>	<>	Calm	Sea like a mirror.	Smoke rises vertically.
1	1-3	1-5	1-4	Light air	Ripples only.	Smoke drifts and leaves rustle.
2	4-6	6-11	5-7	Light breeze	Small wavelets (0.2 m). Crests have a glassy appearance.	Wind felt on face.
3	7-10	12-19	8-11	Gentle breeze	Large wavelets (0.6 m), crests begin to break.	Flags extended, leaves move.
4	11-16	20-29	12-18	Moderate breeze	Small waves (1 m), some whitecaps.	Dust and small branches move.
5	17-21	30-39	19-24	Fresh breeze	Moderate waves (1.8 m), many whitecaps.	Small trees begin to sway.
6	22-27	40-50	25-31	Strong breeze	Large waves (3 m), probably some spray.	Large branches move, wires whistle, umbrellas are difficult to control.
7	28-33	51-61	32-38	Near gale	Mounting sea (4 m) with foam blown in streaks downwind.	Whole trees in motion, inconvenience in walking.
8	34-40	62-74	39-46	Gale	Moderately high waves (5.5 m), crests break into spindrift.	Difficult to walk against wind. Twigs and small branches blown off trees.
9	41-47	76-87	47-54	Strong gale	High waves (7 m), dense foam, visibility affected.	Minor structural damage may occur (shingles blown off roofs).
10	48-55	88-102	55-63	Storm	Very high waves (9 m), heavy sea roll, visibility impaired. Surface generally white.	Trees uprooted, structural damage likely.
11	56-63	103-118	64-73	Violent storm	Exceptionally high waves (11 m), visibility poor.	Widespread damage to structures.
12	64+	119+	74+	Hurricane	14 m waves, air filled with foam and spray, visibility bad.	Severe structural damage to buildings, wide spread devastation.

Note: wave heights apply to the open sea; waves in sheltered waters will be lower and steeper. As sailors know, other factors such as swell and depth can also modify wave heights.