Tukuk-OSWind: Beaufort Scale & Monsoons
1805 to today · from a breeze to a storm
Before anemometers were everywhere, sailors measured wind with their eyes — and the Beaufort scale (1805, Francis Beaufort) is still the best way to "feel" a km/h number. Every city page of ours shows the Beaufort number next to the wind speed; here is the full table.
| Level | Speed | Name | What it looks like at sea and on land |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | < 1 km/h | Calm | Smoke rises vertically; leaves do not stir |
| 1 | 1–5 km/h | Light air | Wind direction shown only by smoke drift |
| 2 | 6–11 km/h | Light breeze | Leaves and small twigs in constant motion |
| 3 | 12–19 km/h | Gentle breeze | Small branches move; flags extend |
| 4 | 20–28 km/h | Moderate breeze | Dust and loose paper rise; thin branches bend |
| 5 | 29–38 km/h | Fresh breeze | Small trees sway; whitecaps form on waves |
| 6 | 39–49 km/h | Strong breeze | Large branches move; walking an umbrella is hard |
| 7 | 50–61 km/h | Near gale | Whole trees sway; walking into the wind is difficult |
| 8 | 62–74 km/h | Gale | Twigs break off; roof tiles and cladding start to lift |
| 9 | 75–88 km/h | Strong gale | Trees uprooted; moderate structural damage |
| 10 | 89–102 km/h | Storm | Widespread damage; trees snapped or toppled |
| 11 | 103–112 km/h | Violent storm | Extensive damage across built-up areas |
| 12 | > 112 km/h | Hurricane force | Total destruction; exceptional sea waves |
Malaysia’s two monsoons
The wind in our region reverses direction twice a year. The Southwest Monsoon (May–September) is drier on the Peninsula but wets offshore western Sabah; the Northeast Monsoon (November–March) sends monsoon rain to the Peninsula’s east coast (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang) and regularly floods Kota Bharu & Kuantan while Kuala Lumpur and Kuching stay comparatively dry. Weak monsoon wind plus smoke from burning = haze (code 721) — which is why June–September is the bad-AQI season, not the rainy season.
Practical danger
Beaufort 7+ = hard to ride a motorcycle in storm rain (sideways force plus slippery tyres). Beaufort 9+ = staying indoors is the right call; falling trees are the number-one storm killer in the subtropics. The live wind numbers on our extremes page always show which cities have already reached those levels.
Wind direction
A reading of "wind 240°" means the wind comes from 240° (southwest) — a meteorological convention that confuses many people. Leeward is the sheltered side; that is why orographic rain falls on Sarawak’s windward slope and stays dry in the rain shadow behind it.