What is the Beaufort scale, and what does it measure?
The Beaufort scale is a system developed in 1805 by British Admiral Sir Frances Beaufort (1774-1857) to estimate the force of wind on a scale from 0 (calm) to 13 (storm) based on visual observations of the sea surface. In 1807, he combined the first two categories so that the scale went from force 0 to 12 (hurricane strength). Beaufort originally intended to use his scale to estimate the effect of wind on sailing vessels on which he served. In 1838, the Royal Navy ordered all of its officers to use a slightly modified version of the scale, denoting the amount of sail a well-conditioned man of war could safely carry. In 1906, British meteorologist Sir George Simpson developed a land-based version of the Beaufort Scale that included such descriptive phrases as wind felt on face (force 2), whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty (force 6), and chimney pots and slates removed (force 9). Many years later, these expressive descriptions caught the attention of a you
