BEAUFORT

See also:

• SCALE
• SCALE (1) A

SCALE  , a series of numbers from o to 12 arranged by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) in 1805, to indicate the strength of the wind from a calm, force o, to a hurricane, force 12, with sailing directions such as " 5, smacks shorten sails " for coast purposes, and " royals, &c., ` full and by ' " for the open sea . An exhaustive report was made in 1906 by the Meteorological Office on the relation between the estimates of wind-force according to Beaufort's scale and the velocities recorded by anemometers belonging to the office, from which the following table is taken: Beaufort scale . Corresponding wind . Limits of hourly velocity . Numbers . Calm Miles per hour .