Francis Beaufort was born in Ireland in 1774, and

went to sea in 1787. He took command of HMS Woolwich in

1805. His seagoing career ended in 1812 when he was
severely wounded in an encounter with Turks, while

Greenwich, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

surveying the coast of Asia Minor.

After convalescence, he pursued a number of

scientific interests until, in 1829 when he was appointed

© National Maritime Museum,

Hydrographer of the Navy.

At the time, he held the rank of captain. In 1831,

Beaufort commissioned the celebrated voyage of the Beagle.
During the voyage (December 1831 to October 1836),
Beaufort’s scale of wind force was used officially for the first
time.

Beagle’s commander, Robert FitzRoy, subsequently became, in 1854, the first director of
the body now known as the Met Office. He and Beaufort were close friends for many years.

Beaufort was made a rear-admiral on the retired list in 1846, served as Hydrographer
until 1855 and died in 1857.

To denote the force of the wind and the state of the weather, Royal Navy officers were
ordered to use the scales below.
 BEAUFORT’S SCALE OF WIND FORCE

© N.C. Horner

Force 0 – Calm

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
0 0.0 <1 0.0 to 0.2

Description in forecast: Calm

State of sea: Calm
Probable height of waves /metres: 0.0
Specification for use at sea: Sea like a mirror.

© G.J. Simpson

Force 1 – Light air

 Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level
Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
2 0.8 1 to 3 0.3 to 1.5

Description in forecast: Light

State of sea: Calm
Probable height of waves /metres: 0.1 (0.1)
Specification for use at sea: Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed, but without foam
crests.

© G.J. Simpson

Force 2 – Light breeze

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
5 2.4 4 to 6 1.6 to 3.3

Description in forecast: Light

State of sea: Smooth
Probable height of waves /metres: 0.2 (0.3)
Specification for use at sea: Small wavelets, still short but more pronounced. Crests have a
glassy appearance and do not break.
 © I.G. McNeil

Force 3 – Gentle breeze

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
9 4.3 7 to 10 3.4 to 5.4

Description in forecast: Light

State of sea: Smooth
Probable height of waves /metres: 0.6 (1.0)
Specification for use at sea: Large wavelets. Crests begin to break. Foam of glassy appearance.
Perhaps scattered white horses.

© I.G. McNeil

Force 4 – Moderate breeze

 Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level
Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
13 6.7 11 to 16 5.5 to 7.9

Description in forecast: Moderate

State of sea: Slight
Probable height of waves /metres: 1.0 (1.5)
Specification for use at sea: Small waves, becoming longer, fairly frequent white horses.

© I.G. McNeil

Force 5 – Fresh breeze

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
19 9.3 17 to 21 8.0 to 10.7

Description in forecast: Fresh

State of sea: Moderate
Probable height of waves /metres: 2.0 (2.5)
Specification for use at sea: Moderate waves, taking a more pronounced long form; many white
horses are formed. Chance of some spray.
 © I.G. McNeil

Force 6 – Strong breeze

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
24 12.3 22 to 27 10.8 to 13.8

Description in forecast: Strong

State of sea: Rough
Probable height of waves /metres: 3.0 (4.0)
Specification for use at sea: Large waves begin to form; the white foam crests are more
extensive everywhere. Probably some spray.

© G.J. Simpson

Force 7 – Near gale

 Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level
Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
30 15.5 28 to 33 13.9 to 17.1

Description in forecast: Strong

State of sea: Very rough
Probable height of waves /metres: 4.0 (5.5)
Specification for use at sea: Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be
blown in streaks along the direction of the wind.

© W.A.E. Smith

Force 8 – Gale

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
37 18.9 34 to 40 17.2 to 20.7

Description in forecast: Gale

State of sea: High
Probable height of waves /metres: 5.5 (7.5)
Specification for use at sea: Moderate high waves of greater length; edges of crests begin to
break into spindrift. The foam is blown in well-marked streaks along the direction of the wind.
 © J.P. Lacock

Force 9 – Strong gale

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
44 22.6 41 to 47 20.8 to 24.4

Description in forecast: Severe gale

State of sea: Very high
Probable height of waves /metres: 7.0 (10.0)
Specification for use at sea: High waves. Dense streaks of foam along the direction of the wind.
Crests of waves begin to topple, tumble and roll over. Spray may affect visibility.

© G. Allen

Force 10 – Storm
 Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level
Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
52 26.4 48 to 55 24.5 to 28.4

Description in forecast: Storm

State of sea: Very high
Probable height of waves /metres: 9.0 (12.5)
Specification for use at sea: Very high waves with long over-hanging crests. The resulting foam,
in great patches, is blown in dense white streaks along the direction of the wind. On the whole
the surface of the sea takes on a white appearance. The ‘tumbling’ of the sea becomes heavy
and shock-like. Visibility affected.

© Crown

Force 11 – Violent storm

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
60 30.5 56 to 63 28.5 to 32.6

Description in forecast: Violent storm

State of sea: Phenomenal
Probable height of waves /metres: 11.5 (16.0)
Specification for use at sea: Exceptionally high waves (small and medium-sized ships might be
for a time lost behind the waves). The sea is completely covered with long white patches of
foam lying along the direction of the wind. Everywhere the edges of the wave crests are blown
into froth. Visibility affected.
 © J.F. Thompson

Force 12 – Hurricane

Equivalent speed at 10 metres above sea level

Mean Limits
/knots /ms-1 /knots /ms-1
- - 64 and over 32.7 and over

Description in forecast: Hurricane force

State of sea: Phenomenal
Probable height of waves /metres: 14.0 (-)
Specification for use at sea: The air is filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white with
driving spray; visibility very seriously affected.

NOTE: Probable height of waves and specification for use at sea are guides to show roughly
what may be expected in the open sea, remote from land. Figures in brackets indicate the
probable maximum height of waves. In enclosed waters, or when near land with an offshore
wind, wave heights will be smaller and the waves steeper.

REFERENCE:

National Meteorological Library & Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre.
(2010). Beaufort: National meteorological library and archive fact sheet 6 – the
beaufort scale (version 1). United Kingdom: Met Office