On shore 'Best Guess' At Wind Speed.

[Craig Weis]

#1~To ascertain the strength of the wind one method is to hold a piece of paper or grass at shoulder level straight out in front of your body and then release it. The sailor points his arm directly at the spot where it has landed and divides the angle between his body and arm by four; the resultant figure is the approximate wind speed in miles per hour.

#2~Winds less then 3 mph can hardly be discerned by the individual, although smoke drifts. Between 3 to 5 mph wind can just be felt on the face. A 5 to 8 mph wind will keep leaves in a tree in constant motion. An 8 to 12 mph wind causes dust to swirl around and blows loose paper. At 12 to 15 mph wind will be strong enough to cause small trees to sway.

just a guide. skip.

[NateD]

How much wind is necessary to lift a skirt?

[jimyoung]

NateD,

Thank you. First good chuckle I've had in an otherwise stressful and way too serious day. And may the wind always be present when there is wind in your pants.

[Bob23]

Nate:
 I think it depends on whose skirt it is. Some I'd rather see stay down.
Bob23

[Glenn Basore]

I would think a mini skirt wouldn't take much more than a breeeeze ..........

Do they still wear mini skirts ?

How much air came out of the famous man hole cover with Marlyn Monroe  standing on it ?

[NateD]

Nate:
 I think it depends on whose skirt it is. Some I'd rather see stay down.
Bob23

I agree, there are many that if I sat and thought about it, I would not intentionally want to peak under, but I wouldn't be able to stop myself from looking if I thought it was about to happen. Besides, if we're using it as a gauge of wind speed, I'm going to need to know just how windy it actually is, so I have to look, for safety reasons.

[Bob23]

Watch it, Glenn..you're dating yourself using the word miniskirt.
And, NateD: Yes, safety first. Why, if that skirt did a reverse fly-up, that could be gale force winds and we may need to put a reef in the main. Do miniskirts have reefing points? I'd say that Marilyn's dress was way overcanvassed to handle that blow from the manhole. She could have used a few reefs, but, thank goodness she chose to fly full sail. That is a timeless photo.
Bob23

[ka8uet]

Gentlemen, back to the original subject.  Look at the Beaufort scale.  It has descriptions relevent to  the water to estimate wind speed. 

[NateD]

On the 1 mile by 4 mile piece of saltless water protected by bluffs on three sides that I frequent, the Beaufort scale doesn't really apply. Although smoke, feeling on the face, and leaf movement are very relevant. Sometimes skirts are relevant too, though it is usually fishermen in bass boats at the launch.

[Bob23]

K8:
   Thanks for reeling us in. I'm learning to just guess the wind speed based on how it feels. I have a small anemometer to confirm my guestimates.
Bob23

[kchunk]

I agree Bob. It's simply a matter of feel. I have an anemometer too, but leave it at home. It's more fun playing with it in a hurricane.

[curtisv]

To ascertain the strength of the wind [...]

At about 30-40 mph moderately heavy deck furniture begins to evacuate.

At 50-60 mph the trees are swaying heavily.

Above about 70 tops of trees break and sometimes trees uproot.  Dead or weak trees may snap.

I haven't tried watching blades of grass or paper fly away.  :-)

We had 120 mph winds in 2005 so a lot of the weaker trees are already gone.  From what I heard only 60 mph winds in the last snow storm (which produced almost no snow on Cape Cod, but a bit of wind).  I was in CA but the admiral was defending the fort.

Wind on land is only a vague indication of wind on the water.

On the water use the Beaufort scale guidlines.  Once used to it you can often get within 2-3 knots just looking at the water.  This is handy when its 10-15 knots in the harbor and 20 or more in open water and you can see open water.  Nice to have a reef or two tied in before getting hit.

Anything less than 10 knots, who cares as long as it is enough to move you.  Much above that 15 knots it is a one reef wind or two reef wind or blowing like stink in which case you may or may not want to go out at all.  Not very precise, but practical.

Curtis