Half bored, I was browsing my bookshelf earlier this evening when my well worn, Third Edition Boy Scouts of America Fieldbook grabbed my attention. Its stained, torn, bent, burnt, etc. Just like a good resource manual should be. Its also way outdated, being published in 1984. Flipping through it, I noticed two things: 1) even for the mid-eighties, the pictures used in the book are ridiculous (the late seventies/early eighties were not kind to fashion) and, 2) there are some interesting and helpful tips in this thing! One that caught my attention was a way of telling the wind speed just from things around you.

Knowing wind speed can be helpful in a number of ways. It can give you an indication of how quick a storm front might be moving in, letting you stop and setup camp. If you're hiking, wind can be a critical factor in leading to hypothermia at worst, and a miserable hike at best. Fire danger gets increased when the wind picks up as well. So, how do you guesstimate wind speed when you are out and about? Here is what the trusty Boy Scout Fieldbook (at least in 1984!) suggested as a basic guide.

• Smoke rises straight up (tall grass isn't moving) = 0 mph
• Smoke drifts or tall grass barely sways = 1-3 mph
• Leaves rustle or flags stir = 4-7 mph
• Leaves and twigs move = 8-12 mph
• Branches move or flags flap = 13-18 mph
• Small trees sway or flags ripply = 19-24 mph
• Large branches move or flags beat = 25-31 mph
• Whole trees move or flags extend = 32-38 mph