On Sep 22, 12:40 am, the great Weatherlawyer pontificated
On Sep 22, 9:16*am, Iain Thornton
wrote:

What is the maximum reliable reading an anemometer can give?

I gather that it is only fairly recently that satellites have been
able to estimate wind speeds and thus supply estimates over F12.

Super Cyclone MONICA 17-24 April 2006 Cat 5 135 knots; 155 mph.

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/...006/index.html

Most of the anemometers we supply are rated for in specification measurements of up to at least 60m/s;
Vector Instruments A100R and A100 LK both have max measurements of around 75 m/s.
RM Youngs 05103 model has a maximum measurement reading of 60 m/s but offers a maximum gust survival of 100 m/s.
Details of our wind sensor range can be found at
http://www.campbellsci.co.uk/index.cfm?id=122

Iain Thornton
Campbell Scientific Europewww.facebook.com/campbellscientificeurope

Interesting site.
More interesting you are not interested in advertising the link.
Not that I don't believe you.

Wind Converter:

100 m/s = 194 knots 360 kph and 224 mph.
But only 12 Beaufort?

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/windrpopup.html

Let's try that in American:

223.7 mph
194.4 knots
100 m/s (meters per second)
328.1 ft/s (feet per second)
360 km/h (kilometers per hour)

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/epz/?n=wxcalc_windconvert

No beaufort?
This is a brill site but maybe I should have just posted a link?

Wind Scales
Beaufort Wind Scale

Beaufort Number
or Force Wind Speed
Description Effects Land / Sea
mph km/hr knots
0 1 1 1 Calm Still, calm air, smoke will rise vertically.
Water is mirror-like.

1 1-3
mph 1-5
kph 1-3
knots Light Air Rising smoke drifts, wind vane is inactive.
Small ripples appear on water surface.

2 4-7
mph 6-11
kph 4-6
knots Light Breeze Leaves rustle, can feel wind on your face, wind
vanes begin to move.
Small wavelets develop, crests are glassy.

3 8-12
mph 12-19
kph 7-10
knots Gentle Breeze Leaves and small twigs move, light weight flags
extend.
Large wavelets, crests start to break, some whitecaps.

4 13-18
mph 20-28
kph 11-16
knots Moderate Breeze Small branches move, raises dust, leaves and
paper.
Small waves develop, becoming longer, whitecaps.

5 19-24
mph 29-38
kph 17-21
knots Fresh Breeze Small trees sway.
White crested wavelets (whitecaps) form, some spray.

6 25-31
mph 39-49
kph 22-27
knots Strong Breeze Large tree branches move, telephone wires begin
to "whistle", umbrellas are difficult to keep under control.
Larger waves form, whitecaps prevalent, spray.

7 32-38
mph 50-61
kph 28-33
knots Moderate or Near Gale Large trees sway, becoming difficult to
walk.
Larger waves develop, white foam from breaking waves begins to be
blown.

8 39-46
mph 62-74
kph 34-40
knots Gale or Fresh Gale Twigs and small branches are broken from
trees, walking is difficult.
Moderately large waves with blown foam.

9 47-54
mph 75-88
kph 41-47
knots Strong Gale Slight damage occurs to buildings, shingles are
blown off of roofs.
High waves (6 meters), rolling seas, dense foam, Blowing spray reduces
visibility.

10 55-63
mph 89-102
kph 48-55
knots Whole Gale or Storm Trees are broken or uprooted, building
damage is considerable.
Large waves (6-9 meters), overhanging crests, sea becomes white with
foam, heavy rolling, reduced visibility.

11 64-72
mph 103-117
kph 56-63
knots Violent Storm Extensive widespread damage.
Large waves (9-14 meters), white foam, visibility further reduced.

12 73+
mph 118+
kph 64+
knots Hurricane Extreme destruction, devastation.
Large waves over 14 meters, air filled with foam, sea white with foam
and driving spray, little visibility.




Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category
Wind Strength - Pressure Effects
1
65 to 83 knots
74 to 95 mph
119 to 153 kph
980 mb Storm surge generally 4-5 ft above normal. No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage. Hurricanes Allison of 1995 and Danny of 1997 were Category One hurricanes at peak intensity.
2
84 to 95 knots
96 to 110 mph
154 to 177 kph
980 - 965 mb Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing
material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to
shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to
mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-
lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane
center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings.
Hurricane Bertha of 1996 was a Category Two hurricane when it hit the
North Carolina coast, while Hurricane Marilyn of 1995 was a Category
Two Hurricane when it passed through the Virgin Islands.
3
96 to 113 knots
111 to 130 mph
178 to 209 kph
964 - 945 mb Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some
structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a
minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees
with foliage blown off trees and large tress blown down. Mobile homes
and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes
are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the hurricane
center. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with
larger structures damaged by battering of floating debris. Terrain
continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded
inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences
with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes
Roxanne of 1995 and Fran of 1996 were Category Three hurricanes at
landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and in North Carolina,
respectively.
4
114 to 134 knots
131 to 155 mph
210 to 249 kph
944- 920 mb Storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal. More
extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure
failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown
down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors
and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5
hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Major damage to lower
floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above
sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential
areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km). Hurricane Luis of 1995 was a
Category Four hurricane while moving over the Leeward Islands.
Hurricanes Felix and Opal of 1995 also reached Category Four status at
peak intensity.
5
135+ knots
155+ mph
249+ kph
920 mb Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal.
Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings.
Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown
over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete
destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door
damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours
before arrival of the hurricane center. Major damage to lower floors
of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within
500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on
low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be
required. There were no Category Five hurricanes in 1995, 1996, or
1997. Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was a Category Five hurricane at peak
intensity and is the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone of record.

The effects described in the Saffir-Simpson scale are from the
National Hurricane Center

Dvorak Current Intensity Chart

The Dvorak technique is a method using enhanced Infrared and/or
visible satellite imagery to quantitatively estimate the intensity of
a tropical system.

CI -- Current Intensity
MWS -- Mean Wind Speed
MSLP -- Mean Sea Level Atmospheric Pressure in Millibars

CI Number MWS (Knots) MSLP (Atlantic) MSLP (Pacific) Saffir-Simpson
Category (Approximate)
1 25 Knots
1.5 25 Knots
2 30 Knots 1009 mb 1000 mb
2.5 35 Knots 1005 mb 997 mb
3 45 Knots 1000 mb 991 mb
3.5 55 Knots 994 mb 984 mb
4 65 Knots 987 mb 976 mb 1 (64-83 KTS)
4.5 77 Knots 979 mb 966 mb 1 (64-83 KTS);
2 (84-96 KTS)
5 90 Knots 970 mb 954 mb 2 (84-96 KTS);
3 (97-113 KTS)
5.5 102 Knots 960 mb 941 mb 3 (97-113 KTS)
6 115 Knots 948 mb 927 mb 4 (114-135 KTS)
6.5 127 Knots 935 mb 914 mb 4 (114-135 KTS)
7 140 Knots 921 mb 898 mb 5 (136+ KTS)
7.5 155 Knots 906 mb 879 mb 5 (136+ KTS)
8 170 Knots 890 mb 858 mb 5 (136+ KTS)

Dvorak Chart from NOAA Satellite Services Division

The upshot is that the best surface based equipment is only rated for
gusts of 135 knots / 155mph.

Monica's rating could only be guessed at even with the best satellite
telemetry of 2006.

Personally I rather think that I would prefer to stick to my good old
broken window than contemporary meteoreology's broken arrow.

This is in reference to a thread cross posted to uk sci weather, sci
geo earthquakes and uk diy about 5 or 6 years ago:

It started out as a post to uk.d-i-y about a misted over double glazed
unit then progressed to a 7.9 quake:

" It has been an interesting month tectonically. A fair bit of
volcanicity
as well as the earhtquakes. Lots of sixes and a tremor not even placed
on the NEIC sites, that killed one miner and trapped 2 more in a
goldmine in Oz:

What will be interesting is that the present (similar) spells have run
for a number of weeks and there is always a heightened period in the
change over of such runs, when storms meteorologic or seismological
tend toward the extreme.

Mags 7.9; 5.1 and 5.4 Tonga.
God damn it. There is a lot to learn.

You ain't seen nothin, yet."

Just clip a bit of the above and search Google Groups for the rest if
you are interested.