| Force | Wind (Knots) |
Classification | Wind Effect |
| 0 | less than 1 | Calm | Sea surface smooth and mirror-like |
| 1 | 1 to 3 | Light Air | Scaly ripples, no foam crests |
| 2 | 4 to 6 | Light Breeze | Small wavelets, crests glassy, no breaking |
| 3 | 7 to 10 | Gentle Breeze | Large wavelets, crests begin to break, scattered whitecaps |
| 4 | 11 to 16 | Moderate Breeze | Small waves 1-4 ft. becoming longer, numerous whitecaps |
| 5 | 17 to 21 | Fresh Breeze |
Moderate waves 4-8 ft taking longer form, many whitecaps, some spray |
| 6 | 22 to 27 | Strong Breeze | Larger waves 8-13 ft, whitecaps common, more spray |
| 7 | 28 to 33 | Near Gale | Sea heaps up, waves 13-20 ft, white foam streaks off breakers |
| 8 | 34 to 40 | Gale | Moderately high (13-20 ft) waves of greater length, edges of crests begin to break into spindrift, foam blown in streaks |
| 9 | 41 to 47 | Strong Gale |
High waves (20 ft), sea begins to roll, dense streaks of foam, spray may reduce visibility |
| 10 | 48 to 55 | Storm | Very high waves (20-30 ft) with overhanging crests, sea white with densely blown foam, heavy rolling, lowered visibility |
| 11 | 56 to 63 | Violent Storm | Exceptionally high (30-45 ft) waves, foam patches cover sea, visibility more reduced |
| 12 | 64+ | Hurricane | Air filled with foam, waves over 45 ft, sea completely white with driving spray, visibility greatly reduced |