maratoolHow to convert knots to mph and read the Beaufort scale
Enter a wind speed in any unit — read every other unit plus the Beaufort force.
Marine forecasts speak knots, land forecasts mph or km/h, and sailing guides speak Beaufort force. The Wind Speed Converter translates between all of them at once.
How it works
- Enter speed — any of knots, mph, km/h, m/s, ft/s.
- All units update — exact knot/mile/meter factors.
- Beaufort readout — force number and NWS description.
The key factors
1 knot = 1.852 km/h exactly (one nautical mile per hour) = 1.15078 mph = 0.51444 m/s. Aviation and marine wind reports stay in knots worldwide; multiply by 2 for a rough km/h figure.
Beaufort bands
The Beaufort scale maps speed ranges to sea and land effects per the NOAA NWS table: force 4 (11–16 kn) is a moderate breeze, force 6 begins small-craft caution, force 8 is a gale, force 12 (64+ kn) is hurricane force.
Sources & methodology
Methodology reference: NOAA National Weather Service — Beaufort Scale. Everything runs client-side in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
More conversion guides
- How to convert m/s² to g-force
- How to convert MPG to L/100km (fuel economy)
- How to convert square feet to square meters (and any area unit)
Or browse everything at once in the new unit & sizing converters roundup.