Wind Shown by Smoke Drift; the poetry of Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort

Yesterday morning I was lying in bed and looking at the barometer I have propped on a bedroom window. I'm a big fan of barometers, partially because I loathe tv weathermen, those cheery morons, but mostly because it gives you information that is simultaneously completely exact and fairly flexible. The pressure was rising, I noticed, so we'll probably have some sun. Then, shifting my gaze to the right, I looked out the window into a bright blue sky. Ahh, I thought, empirical feedback. This, naturally, led me to think about the Beaufort Scale.

In 1805, then-Commander Francis Beaufort devised a system for measuring wind speed. At the time, the British Navy didn't have anemometers on every ship (or, rather, at all), so young Cmdr. Beaufort came up with an empirical scale to gauge and log wind conditions. Numbered zero through 12, each station of the scale featured a qualitative description about how that specific wind strength affected a British Man o' War, the standard Naval vessel of the day.

Force Five: "Man o' War in chase will just carry royals and courses."

As the Man o' War fell out of widespread use, and to carry the system over into land-based measure, the Beaufort Scale was expanded with further descriptions. They are beautiful.

Force Two: "Wind felt on face; Leaves rustle; Vanes moved by wind."

It's completely clear--I can feel exactly what this wind would be. At the same time, it has a haiku-like quality. And they're all like this.

Force Six: "Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters."

Crested wavelets? I could eat that with a spoon. NPR's Scott Huler already covered this a few years ago--I like to cite my plagiarism, thanks--but it's always stuck with me. There's something universal about the scale's descriptions. When it comes to weather, even numbers can be vague. 40 degrees means different things to different people, but "Dirty mounds of snow melt by one-third; Cyclists show shin" is actually quantifiable. Maybe I'll try and come up with the Edwards-Orr Chill Index in the same vein.

Force Three: "Small dogs in sweaters; Struggle with the storm windows; Benign complaining"
Force Eleven: "Mittens rendered useless; Snot freezes"