Gale force for coastal areas, between and . The definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is . The most common way of measuring wind force is with the Beaufort scale which defines a gale as wind from to . 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: The word "gale" is derived from the older "gail", but its origin
Wind prevailing winds range in speed from along the equator to at the poles. At 70° S latitude on Neptune, a high-speed jet stream travels at a speed of . The fastest wind on any known planet is on HD 80606 b located 190 light years away, where it blows at more than 11,000 mph or 5 km/s. Wind Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On the surface of the Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Sun through space,