Based on observations of 8 island stations and 22 shorebased stations from 2007 to 2019,thefifth generation ECMWF reanalysis data,and early warning information of gale issued by QingdaoMeteorological Observatory from 2015 to 2019,the characteristics of gale in Qingdao coastal areas areanalyzed and the accuracy of gale warning is assessed. Suggestions on reference sites for early warning arealso presented. The results are shown below. (1)In Qingdao coastal areas,60 3 percent of gale daysappear in winter and spring,82 9 percent occur at island stations,while there is rare influence of galearound Jiaozhou Bay. (2)The main circulation patterns associated with Qingdao gale are cold high, trough,extratropical cyclone,and typhoon;cold high,trough,and extratropical cyclone mainly induce winter gale,spring gale,and spring -summer gale,respectively. (3)From 2015 to 2019,the meanaccuracy of early warning is 81 0% at island stations,the mean lead time of announcing early warning is12 1 h in coastal areas,and the lag time of terminating early warning is 20 8 h. (4)There are 4 islandstations (Tianheng Island,Changmenyan Island,Chaolian Island,and Lingshan Island)and 5 shorebased stations (Yinghai Town of Jiaozhou,Hongdao Leisure Fishing Village,Luojiaying Community, Olympic Sailing Base,and Dajian Mountain)that can be listed as reference sites and used for earlywarning service of gale in Qingdao coastal areas.