What is the average velocity of wind within a storm

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based only on a hurricane's maximum sustained wind speed. This scale does not take into account other potentially deadly hazards such as storm surge, rainfall flooding, and tornadoes. Major hurricanes can cause devastating to catastrophic wind damage and significant loss of life simply due to the strength of their winds. Hurricanes of all categories can produce deadly storm surge, rain-induced floods, and tornadoes. These hazards require people to take protective action, including evacuating from areas vulnerable to storm surge.

Disclaimer Information Quality Help Glossary. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Be Prepared! Of course this doesn't mean the wind is constantly blowing at the speed. The gust will last generally under 20 seconds. The longer that gust lasts, the longer that gust can exert force on an object and the higher the potential to cause damage. By definition, a wind gust is stronger than a sustained wind. But, a sustained wind is just as capable of causing significant damage.

A wind gust generally lasts under 20 seconds. The longer that gust lasts, the longer it exerts force on an object and the higher the potential to cause damage. By comparison, a sustained wind lasts several minutes. Although the force applied is less, it's applied for a much longer period of time. That force on an object causes stress and results in damage, sometimes worse than a strong wind gust.

The take away here is that the faster the wind speed or gust, the greater the chance for damage. Two wind movements occur during a storm: an updraft of warm air, which predominates during the formation and maturation of the storm, and and a downdraft of cooler air that becomes more prominent as the storm dissipates. The strongest winds occur during the midpoint of the storm, when these opposing are roughly equal.

The modern version of the Beaufort scale includes 12 designations, each of which corresponds to a range of wind speeds. The designations 6 through 10 represent typical wind conditions during an average thunderstorm - 22 to 55 miles per hour. A thunderstorm requires warm, moist air and a mass of colder air that can push it upward.

As the warm air rises, the moisture it contains cools, condenses and falls back to earth as rain. Meanwhile, the friction of air molecules rushing past each other creates an electrical charge that eventually discharges as lightning. In , Commander Francis Beaufort of the British navy transcribed his version of a wind scale that was already in widespread use, and meteorologists have used the Beaufort scale since then to gauge wind speeds.

The modern version of the scale includes 12 designations, each of which corresponds to a range of wind speeds. The top two designate speeds typical of severe thunderstorms and hurricanes, while the other ten represent ascending velocity from dead calm to gale-force winds. In particular, the designations 6 through 10 on the scale represent typical wind conditions during an average thunderstorm.

The speeds represented are from 35 to 88 kilometers per hour 22 to 55 miles per hour. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration classifies thunderstorms as severe when they are accompanied by hailstones larger than three quarters of an inch in diameter, and tornadoes or wind speeds of more than 93 kilometers per hour 58 miles per hour.