Measuring Wind Speed

At one time, sailors would use flags and streamers to measure the strength of the wind. In 1805, Sir Francis Beaufort published his table of wind speeds based on what happened to the sails of a man o'war. With some modifications, his scale is still used today. You can use a flag and the Beaufort wind scale below to find out how fast wind is moving.

Materials

• a printed copy of "Beaufort wind scale #1", below
• a printed copy of "Beaufort wind scale #2", below
• scissors
• sharpened pencil
• brad paper fastener
• colored pencils or crayons

To print this page

1. PLACE the mouse pointer on the File menu at the top of the screen.
2. CLICK and HOLD the mouse button down while DRAGGING the pointer to Print.
3. RELEASE the mouse button. The print dialog box is displayed.
4. PRESS RETURN. The wind scales will begin to print.

Instructions

1. CUT OUT each Beaufort wind scale along the outside circle.
2. COLOR each Beaufort wind scale if desired.
3. CUT OUT both shaded areas on Beaufort wind scale #1.
4. With a sharpened pencil, PUNCH a hole through the black dot in the center of each circle.
5. PLACE Beaufort wind scale #1 on top of Beaufort wind scale #2.
6. PUSH the brad fastener through the center hole of both circles.
7. FLIP your Beaufort wind scale over and spread open the fastener.
8. SPIN the wheel to make sure it moves freely.
9. USE your new Beaufort wind scale to see how fast the outside wind is moving .

Beaufort wind scale #1

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Beaufort wind scale #2

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