Category
Wind TermsRelated Terms
8 in category
In Context
PAGASA uses a one-minute averaging period for maximum sustained winds, while some other agencies use ten minutes, which is one reason the same storm can be reported with different wind speeds by different sources.
Related Terms in Wind Terms
View All →
Destructive Wind
Destructive wind refers to wind speeds capable of causing significant damage to structures, trees, and infrastructure, typically associated with typhoon and super typhoon strength systems.
Gale
A gale is sustained wind of 39 to 61 knots, roughly 63 to 88 km/h, strong enough to prompt gale warnings for coastal and marine areas.
Gust
A gust is a brief spike in wind speed above the sustained wind, typically lasting only a few seconds, but capable of causing damage that sustained winds alone would not.
Maximum Sustained Winds
Maximum sustained winds is the highest sustained wind speed found anywhere within a tropical cyclone's circulation, usually located in the eyewall, and the figure used to determine its official classification.
Strong Breeze
A strong breeze is a wind classification on the Beaufort scale, roughly 39 to 49 km/h, strong enough to make walking difficult and cause small branches to move.
Violent Wind
Violent wind describes wind strong enough to cause widespread structural damage, generally corresponding to the higher PAGASA wind signal levels.
Wind Direction
Wind direction indicates where the wind is blowing from, described using compass points, and shifts predictably as a tropical cyclone's circulation passes over a fixed location.
Wind Speed
Wind speed is the rate at which air moves, typically measured in kilometers per hour, and the basis for both PAGASA's wind signal levels and a storm's overall classification.
This definition is part of the azifind.com Typhoon Wiki, informed by PAGASA and the World Bank/GFDRR catastrophe risk data used across our province pages. View all Typhoon Wiki terms →