Gale
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A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between Script error: No such module "convert"..[1] Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are expected. In the United States, a gale warning is specifically a maritime warning; the land-based equivalent in National Weather Service warning products is a wind advisory.
Other sources use minima as low as Script error: No such module "convert"., and maxima as high as Script error: No such module "convert".. Through 1986, the National Hurricane Center used the term “gale” to refer to winds of Template:Clarify span for coastal areas between Script error: No such module "convert". and Script error: No such module "convert".. The Script error: No such module "convert". definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is Script error: No such module "convert"..[2]
The most common way of describing wind force is with the Beaufort scale[3] that defines a gale as wind from Script error: No such module "convert". to Script error: No such module "convert".. It is an empirical measure for describing wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions. On the original 1810 Beaufort wind force scale, there were four "gale" designations whereas generally today there are two gale forces, 8 and 9, and a near gale 7:
| Wind force | Original name | Current name | km/h | m/s | mph | knots | Mean knots | Sea state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Moderate gale | Near gale | 50–61 | 14–17 | 32–38 | 28–33 | 30 | Rough |
| 8 | Fresh gale | Gale | 62–74 | 17–20 | 39–46 | 34–40 | 37 | Very Rough |
| 9 | Strong gale | Severe Gale/ Strong Gale (UK) | 75–88 | 21–24 | 47–54 | 41–47 | 44 | High |
| 10 | Whole gale | Storm | 89–102 | 25–28 | 55–63 | 48–55 | 52 | Very High |
Etymology
The word gale is derived from the Middle English gale, a general word for wind of any strength, even a breeze. This word is probably of North Germanic origin, related to Icelandic gola (breeze) and Danish gal (furious, mad),[4] which are both from Old Norse gala (to sing), from Proto-Germanic *galaną (to roop, sing, charm), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (to shout, scream, charm away).
References
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- ↑ National Weather Service Glossary Template:Webarchive, s.v. "gale" Template:Webarchive.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Etymology of gale
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