What is the industry maximum in-service wind speed for a tower crane?

CPA TIN 020 puts the industry maximum in-service figure at 38 mph (16.5 m/s) gust, which is the default here. Many cranes and loads have lower limits: check the crane’s own manual and set your own figure.

Can I get a message before gusts exceed my figure?

Yes. Turn on limit alerts for the site and a notification or an email arrives when a limit is forecast to be exceeded: once per window, never twice about the same limit within six hours, and nothing between 21:00 and 06:00.

Why does the forecast show a spread?

Several models are averaged and how far apart they sit is shown. The Cautious reading takes each hour at the adverse edge of that spread.

Weather Metric › Crane wind speed forecast

When will gusts exceed your crane’s out-of-service and careful-lift figures?

Put in the site and Weather Metric shows the next 24 hours of gusts and mean wind against each of your crane figures, with the window when a figure is approached or exceeded and how far apart the forecast models are.

Gust and mean wind are different figures

A crane comes out of service on a gust, and many lift plans also set a mean wind figure. The two are forecast separately here and read against separate limits, because a day with a moderate mean wind can still carry gusts well over the out-of-service figure. CPA guidance (TIN 020) notes that forecasts do not always make clear which one they quote.

Three figures, read hour by hour

Set the crane’s out-of-service gust, your careful-lift gust (for large or light loads such as cladding, shutters or steel, which can get away from an operator well below the crane’s own figure) and your mean wind limit. Each is listed as Within limits, Approached (within 15 percent of the figure) or Exceeded, with the window and the peak.

Where a figure is exceeded, one line names a measure to consider, such as suspending lifts and confirming with the appointed person.

Height matters

These are 10 metre forecast figures, not jib-height figures. CPA TIN 020 notes that in city-centre locations the gust at 100 metres can be around twice the gust at pedestrian level. The crane’s own anemometer is the reading that governs; the forecast is for planning the day.

How sure the models are

Gusts are the mean of the Met Office, NOAA GFS, DWD ICON and Météo-France models (ECMWF publishes no gust figure), and the spread between them is shown for the worst hour. The Crane tab runs 48 hours or five days in one table and ends where the models stop agreeing.

What it leaves to you

Weather Metric reports forecast and measured conditions against limits you set. It does not decide whether an activity goes ahead: the lift plan, the method statement, the manufacturer’s figures and the people responsible on site do that.

Questions people ask

What is the industry maximum in-service wind speed for a tower crane?: CPA TIN 020 puts the industry maximum in-service figure at 38 mph (16.5 m/s) gust, which is the default here. Many cranes and loads have lower limits: check the crane’s own manual and set your own figure.
Can I get a message before gusts exceed my figure?: Yes. Turn on limit alerts for the site and a notification or an email arrives when a limit is forecast to be exceeded: once per window, never twice about the same limit within six hours, and nothing between 21:00 and 06:00.
Why does the forecast show a spread?: Several models are averaged and how far apart they sit is shown. The Cautious reading takes each hour at the adverse edge of that spread.