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-powered vehicle exceed that of the wind, both directly "into the wind" and directly "downwind" by transferring power through a drive train between the rotor and the wheels. The wind-powered speed record is by a vehicle with a sail on it, "Greenbird", with a recorded top speed of . Other wind-powered conveyances include sailing vessels that travel on water, and balloons and sailplanes that travel in the air, all of which are beyond the scope of this article. Sail-powered vehicles travel over land or ice at apparent wind speeds that are higher than the true wind speed, close-hauled on most points of