gale

{{Short description|Strong wind}}

{{About|strong winds}}

{{globalize

|2 = the United States

|date=May 2020}}

File:Brooklyn Museum - After a Gale--Wreckers - James Hamilton - overall.jpg]]

File:Galewarning flag.svg

{{Weather}}

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 {{convert|34|and|47|kn|km/h m/s mph|lk=on|sigfig=3}}.[https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php National Weather Service Glossary], s.v. [https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?word=gale "gale"]. 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 {{convert|28|kn|km/h m/s mph}}, and maxima as high as {{convert|90|kn|km/h m/s mph}}. Through 1986, the National Hurricane Center used the term “gale” to refer to winds of {{Clarify span|tropical force|Tropical refers to location and not force|date=February 2023}} for coastal areas between {{convert|33|kn|km/h m/s mph}} and {{convert|63|kn|km/h m/s mph}}. The {{convert|90|kn|km/h m/s mph}} definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is {{convert|55|kn|km/h mph m/s}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.novalynx.com/glossary-g.html |title=Glossary of Meteorological Terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211180643/http://www.novalynx.com/glossary-g.html |archive-date=2008-12-11 |publisher=NovaLynx Corporation}}

The most common way of describing wind force is with the Beaufort scale{{cite web|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/guide/weather/marine/beaufort-scale|website=Met Officewebsite|title=Beaufort wind force scale}} that defines a gale as wind from {{convert|50|km/h|m/s}} to {{convert|102|km/h|m/s}}. 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 different "gale" designations whereas generally today there are two gale forces, 8 and 9, and a near gale 7:

class="wikitable"
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