Gale

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A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong. The U.S. Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines a gale as 34 to 47 knots (62.7 km/hr to 86.9 km/hr or 39 miles per hour to 54 miles per hour) of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are expected.

Other sources use minimums as low as 28 knots and maximums as high as 90 knots. The 90 knot definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is 55 knots.

For more on the traditional nautical use of the word gale, see Beaufort scale.

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