You are viewing text created during the EU sponsored project "Kids & Science". More information on this project can be found on the project Web site: www.kidsandscience.org

Kids&Science Air Wind and Weather Wind Winds
Index
See also: No Rain Without Sunshine!, Fog and Clouds, Special Winds 

 

Winds

Formation

  • Formation:

Temperature, differences in the air pressure, the rotation of the earth and the relief structure of the earth’s surface are the main causes for the flow of air. Gusts of wind are caused by the irregularity of the landscape, and therefore they are much stronger on land than at sea. Winds are generated by horizontal differences in the atmospheric pressure, which are based on temperature differences. Winds within bigger spheres of influence are additionally affected by the earth’s rotation.

  • Strength of the Wind:

Bft 

Strength of the Wind

km/h

0

Calm

0-1

1

Light air

1 - 5

2

Light breeze

6 - 11

3

Gentle breeze

12 - 19

4

Moderate breeze

20 - 28

5

Fresh breeze

29 - 38

6

Strong breeze

39 - 49

7

Gale

50 - 61

8

Strong gale

62 - 74

9

Storm

75 - 88

10

Violent storm

89 - 102

The strength of the wind is measured with an anemometer. The unit of measure is a Beaufort.

  • Direction:

The direction the winds come from determines their names, e.g.: SE wind, NE wind...

Material courtesy of
Kids&Science Foundation		 Web space and technical support
provided by Epina GmbH		 Last Update: 2004-Feb-29