Maritime In the
United States, the
National Weather Service issues gale warnings for marine areas (oceans, sounds, estuaries, and the
Great Lakes) experiencing, or about to experience, winds within the range of to . In United States maritime warning flag systems, two red pennants indicate a gale warning; the use of one such flag denotes a
small craft advisory. The National Weather Service issues a
storm warning for higher winds of to at sea. In the event of a tropical cyclone, however, a
tropical storm warning replaces both the gale warning and the storm warning. In this type of situation, the storm warning maritime flag is also used in lieu of the gale warning pennants, regardless of the intensity of the tropical storm.
Land The
National Weather Service issues a similar
high wind warning (
Specific Area Message Encoding code: HWW) for high winds on land. The criteria vary from place to place; however, in most cases, the warning applies to winds of to for at least 1 hour;
or any gusts of to on land. It is more severe than a
wind advisory, but not as severe as an
extreme wind warning, which is generally issued if major hurricane winds are expected from a
tropical cyclone. The high wind warning is not issued if a
tropical storm warning,
blizzard warning,
winter storm warning,
severe thunderstorm warning,
dust storm warning, or
tornado warning covers the phenomenon. ==Usage in the United Kingdom==