Based on experiments a new law is proposed for the vortex shedding from a circular cylinder which describes in a consistent way the Strouhal–Reynolds-number dependency asSr=Sr*+m/Refrom the beginning of the vortex shedding atRe=47up to the laminar–turbulent transition of the cylinder boundary layer atRe>2×105.The various vortex shedding processes, occurring with increasing Reynolds number, are described by different coefficientsSr*andm.©1998 American Institute of Physics.