"Norman Lynagh" wrote in
message ...
By definition, terms such as 'gale', 'storm' etc refer only to the mean
wind speed. Gusts do not come into it.

To muddy the waters a bit, I believe that gale warnings are issued by
the Met Office when the mean wind speed is expected to reach 34 knots or
more OR if gusts are expected to reach 43 knots or more. Therefore,
expected gusts of 43 knots trigger a gale warning but the occurrence of
43 knot gusts does not mean that a gale has occurred. That requires a
mean speed of 34 knots or more over a 10-minute period. (I may not have
got that completely correct so if anyone knows better please say so).

Norman.
(delete "thisbit" twice to e-mail)
--
Norman Lynagh Weather Consultancy
Chalfont St Giles 85m a.s.l.
England

Norman.
Yes, you are correct, but only in terms of the shipping forecast/warnings
for shipping sea areas, and this is only a local 'CFO' (as it used to be,
don't know what it is called now) definition, and as such is only applicable
to shipping forecasts and the associated gale warnings. The sole definition
of a gale is given in terms of the mean speed at a height of 10 metres.

--
Bernard Burton
Wokingham, Berkshire, UK.

Satellite images at:
www.btinternet.com/~wokingham.weather/wwp.html