Gale 320909 220183257 2008-06-18T17:42:59Z 190.160.235.206 {{otheruses}} A '''gale''' is a very strong [[wind]]. There are conflicting definitions of how strong. The U.S. Government's [[National Weather Service]] defines a gale as 34 to 47 knots (62.7 km/hr to 86.9 km/hr or 39 miles per hour to 54 miles per hour) of sustained surface winds.<ref>[http://www.nws.noaa.gov/glossary/ National Weather Service Glossary], s.v. [http://www.nws.noaa.gov/glossary/index.php?word=Gale "gale"].</ref> Forecasters typically issue [[gale warning]]s when winds of this strength are expected. Other sources use minimums as low as 28 knots and maximums as high as 90 knots. The 90 knot definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is 55 knots.<ref>[http://www.novalynx.com/glossary-g.html Glossary of Meteorological Terms], NovaLynx Corporation.</ref> == References == {{Reflist}} == See also == * [[Beaufort scale]] (for more on the traditional nautical use of the word "gale") [[Category:Winds]] {{climate-stub}} [[de:Starkwind]] [[es:Temporal (meteorología)]] [[ja:風力]] [[pl:Wicher]]