A gale is a very strong win. There are conflicting definitions of how strong. The U.S. Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines a gale as 34 to 47 knots (62.7 km/hr to 86.9 km/hr or 39 miles per hour to 54 miles per hour) of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are expected.