The Beaufort Wind Scale was devised in 1806 by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857). Born in Ireland, Beaufort joined the Royal Navy as a young man and served for many years. Because of his knowledge of hydrography (the study of everything to do with the sea) he was made hydrography of the navy. His wind scale for sailors divided wind speeds into 13 forces. In 1838 the Beaufort Scale was adopted for sea, and by 1874 it was adopted internationally for general use. It is still widely used, especially at sea.

The Beaufort Scale

Force 0 Calm: less than 1 km/h (1 mph) Smoke rises vertically, and the air feels still.Force 1 Light air: 1-5 km/h (1-3 mph) Rising smoke drifts, but wind vanes And flags do not move.Force 2 Light breeze: 6-11 km/h (4-7 mph) Smoke shows the direction of wind.Force 3 Gentle breeze: 12-19 km/h (8-12 mph) Light flags, leaves and twigs move gently.Force 4 Moderate breeze: 20-29 km/h (13-18 mph) Loose pieces of paper blow about.Force 5 Fresh breeze: 30-39 km/h (19-24 mph) Small leafy trees sway in the breeze.Force 6 Strong breeze: 40-50 km/h (25-31 mph) It is difficult to use umbrellas.Force 7 Moderate gale: 51-61 km/h (32-38 mph) Pressure felt when walking into wind.Force 8 Fresh gale: 62-74 km/h (39-46 mph) Twigs are torn away from trees.Force 9 Strong gale: 75-87 km/h (47-54 mph) Slates and chimneys are blow down.Force 10 Whole gale: 88-102 km/h (55-63 mph) Trees are damaged or uprooted.Force 11 Storm: 103-120 km/h (64-75 mph) Cars overturned. Trees blown a distance.Force 12 Hurricane: in excess of 120 km/h (75 mph) Widespread damage and devastation. Many Trees uprooted. Buildings are destroyed.

Hurricanes are common at sea but rare Over land, except in coastal regions and Hurricane zones of the globe.

Next Week........RainAnswer to last weeks question....10 metres.This week's question....A hurricane is declared when the wind speed is above:A/ 55 mphB/ 75 mphBest of Luck.

Glossary of Common Weather Terms:

Hail: Precipitation which has frozen into particles of ice which vary in size. Layers of ice build one on another as it is suspended in violent up-draughts of cumulonimbus clouds until they become heavy enough to overcome the turbulent currents and fall to the surface as hail.

Weather for period Monday 2nd July-Friday 6th July: Low pressure prevails although pressure may rise a shade later in the week.

The coming week will be cooler than usual with rain or storms mixed with some drier sunnier spells. Gusty winds within the storm centre's due to those down draft winds.

Maximum temperature 18-20c 64-68f.

Minimum temperature 11-13c 52-55f.

Last Week's Observations (Monday-Friday) Highest day temperature...........20.1c 68f on Friday 29th June.

Lowest night temperature..........6.6c 45f on Wednesday 27th June.

Wettest day..............................12.0 mm on Friday 29th June.