A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (Шаблон:Nowrap, Шаблон:Nowrap or Шаблон:Nowrap).[1] Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are expected. In the United States, a gale warning is specifically a maritime warning; the land-based equivalent in National Weather Service warning products is a wind advisory.
The most common way of describing wind force is with the Beaufort scale[3] which defines a gale as wind from Шаблон:Convert to Шаблон:Convert. It is an empirical measure for describing wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions. On the original 1810 Beaufort wind force scale, there were four different "gale" designations whereas generally today there are two gale forces, 8 and 9, and a near gale 7:
The word gale is derived from the Middle Englishgale, a general word for wind of any strength, even a breeze. This word is probably of North Germanic origin, related to Icelandicgola (breeze) and Danishgal (furious, mad),[4] which are both from Old Norsegala (to sing), from Proto-Germanic *galaną (to roop, sing, charm), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (to shout, scream, charm away).
