What is Wind speed?
[[File:Cup anemometer barani anim 120x120.gif|thumb|right|Wind speed gauge, or [[anemometer]]]]'''Wind speed''' is the [[speed]] of the [[weather]] related air movement from one place to the next.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sailwx.info/wxobs/windspeed.phtml |title=Wind Speed Map |access-date=2011-04-04 |archive-date=2011-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304022401/http://www.sailwx.info/wxobs/windspeed.phtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Wind speeds usually mean the movement of air in an outside environment, but the speed of movement of air inside is also important in many cases, including [[weather forecast]]ing, [[aircraft]] and [[sea|maritime]] operations, [[construction]] and [[civil engineering]]. High wind speeds can cause unpleasant side effects, and strong winds often have special names, including [[gale]]s, [[hurricane]]s, and [[typhoon]]s. The highest non-tornadic wind speed ever [[Measurement|measured]] on [[earth]], 253 [[miles per hour]], was recorded on Barrow Island, Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/jshess/docs/2012/courtney_hres.pdf|title=Documentation and verification of the world extreme wind gust record|date=June 2010|website=Bureau of Meteorology - Australia|publisher=Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal 62 (2012) 1–9}}</ref> ==Measurement== The most simple method of measuring wind speed is to estimate the speed from the observed event against the [[Beaufort Scale]]. Obviously, this method is not the most accurate available, so each value on the scale represents a range of values, three on the scale, for example, covers the wind speeds between seven and ten [[knot (speed)|knots]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/beaufort.html |title=Beaufort Scales (Wind Speed) |access-date=2011-04-04 |archive-date=2011-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428092125/http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/beaufort.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{commonscat}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} {{Wind}} [[Category:Winds]]