Book 7, Question 52
Why Is a Breeze Soft and a Gale Strong?
Wind is air moving from high pressure to low pressure. If the pressure difference is small, you feel a soft breeze. If the pressure difference is large, you get a gale, a strong wind that can thrash trees.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 7
More fun facts
- The Beaufort scale describes wind strength with numbers, usually from 0 to 12.
- It is named for Sir Francis Beaufort of the British Royal Navy, who created it in 1805.
- Beaufort based his scale on how sailors set the sails on a warship in different winds.
- The scale lets people estimate wind strength just by looking around, with no instruments.
- The Beaufort scale is still used today.
Sources: National Geographic Education, National Weather Service
Questions kids ask
What is the Beaufort scale?
A scale from 0 to 12 that describes how strong the wind is by what it does.
Who made the Beaufort scale?
Sir Francis Beaufort of the British Royal Navy, in 1805.