Wind gust World Meteorological Organization. Any significant variation at this mean wind during the ten minutes preceding the observation are noted as gusts in messages such as METAR. It is generally reported in METAR when the peak wind speed reaches at least 16 knots and the variation in wind speed between the peaks and average wind is at least 9 to 10 knots. In marine meteorology, the top speed of a burst is expressed in meters per second (m/s) or in knots, while the Beaufort scale is used for reporting the mean speed. When the maximum speed exceeds the average speed by
Wind rose Wind rose A wind rose is a graphic tool used by meteorologists to give a succinct view of how wind speed and direction are typically distributed at a particular location. Historically, wind roses were predecessors of the compass rose (found on charts), as there was no differentiation between a cardinal direction and the wind which blew from such a direction. Using a polar coordinate system of gridding, the frequency of winds over a time period is plotted by wind direction, with color bands showing wind speed ranges. The direction of the longest spoke shows the wind direction with the greatest