View source for Gale

{{Short description|Strong wind}}
{{About|strong winds}}
{{globalize
|2 = [[the United States]]
|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Brooklyn Museum - After a Gale--Wreckers - James Hamilton - overall.jpg|thumb|''After a Gale &ndash; Wreckers'' by [[James Hamilton (1819-1878)|James Hamilton]]]]
[[File:Galewarning flag.svg|thumb|Gale warning flag]]
{{Weather}}

A '''gale''' is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in [[nautical]] contexts. The U.S. [[National Weather Service]] defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between {{convert|34|and|47|kn|km/h m/s mph|lk=on|sigfig=3}}.<ref name="noaa_glossary">[https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php National Weather Service Glossary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511024146/https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php |date=2020-05-11 }}, s.v. [https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?word=gale "gale"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831105725/https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?word=GALE |date=2021-08-31 }}.</ref> Forecasters typically issue [[gale warning]]s when winds of this strength are expected. In the [[United States]], a gale warning is specifically a maritime warning; the land-based equivalent in National Weather Service warning products is a [[wind advisory]].

Other sources use minima as low as {{convert|28|kn|km/h m/s mph}}, and maxima as high as {{convert|90|kn|km/h m/s mph}}.  Through 1986, the [[National Hurricane Center]] used the term “gale” to refer to winds of {{Clarify span|[[tropical]] force|Tropical refers to location and not force|date=February 2023}} for coastal areas between {{convert|33|kn|km/h m/s mph}} and {{convert|63|kn|km/h m/s mph}}. The {{convert|90|kn|km/h m/s mph}} definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is {{convert|55|kn|km/h mph m/s}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novalynx.com/glossary-g.html |title=Glossary of Meteorological Terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211180643/http://www.novalynx.com/glossary-g.html |archive-date=2008-12-11 |publisher=NovaLynx Corporation}}</ref>

The most common way of describing wind force is with the [[Beaufort scale]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/guide/weather/marine/beaufort-scale|website=Met Officewebsite|title=Beaufort wind force scale}}</ref> that defines a gale as wind from {{convert|50|km/h|m/s}} to {{convert|102|km/h|m/s}}. 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 "gale" designations whereas generally today there are two gale forces, 8 and 9, and a near gale 7:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Wind force !! Original name !! Current name !! km/h !! m/s !! mph !! knots !! Mean knots !! Sea state
|-
| '''7''' || Moderate gale || Near gale || 50–61 || 14–17 || 32–38 || 28–33 || 30 || Rough
|-
| '''8''' || Fresh gale || Gale || 62–74 || 17–20 || 39–46 || 34–40 || 37 || Very Rough
|-
| '''9''' || Strong gale || Severe Gale/ Strong Gale ([[UK]]) || 75–88 || 21–24 || 47–54 || 41–47 || 44 || High
|-
| '''10''' || Whole gale || Storm || 89–102 || 25–28 || 55–63 || 48–55 || 52 || Very High
|}

== Etymology ==
The word ''gale'' is derived from the [[Middle English]] ''gale'', a general word for wind of any strength, even a breeze. This word is probably of [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] origin, related to [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] ''gola'' (breeze) and [[Danish language|Danish]] ''gal'' (furious, mad),<ref>[http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&word=gale&resource=Webster%27s&quicksearch=on Etymology of gale]</ref> which are both from [[Old Norse]] ''gala'' (to sing), from [[Proto-Germanic]] *''galaną'' (to roop, sing, charm), from [[Proto-Indo-European]] *''gʰel''- (to shout, scream, charm away).

== References ==
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[[Category:Wind]]
[[Category:Seas]]