Measuring Wind Direction and Wind Speed

MEASURING WIND DIRECTION AND WIND SPEED

As mentioned, you should be able to predict both the wind speed and direction. When you report wind direction, you need to report the direction the wind is coming from. If you say there is northerly wind, for example, you need to say the wind is coming from the north and that it is going to the south. You can also use one of the cardinal directions (north, south, east, or west) and then give an angle. This will be different from your typical angles you write on paper. When you report wind direction as coming from the north, you will report that as zero degrees. Wind coming from the east to the west has an angle of ninety degrees. Wind coming from the south to the north has an angle of one hundred eighty degrees. You get the idea.

People also want to know the wind speed, so you will say that the wind is coming from the east at twenty miles per hour or perhaps fifteen kilometers per hour, depending on where you live. This way, people know to expect where the coming from and how strong it will be.

If you happen to use a windsock or a weathervane, you can still get the wind direction. A windsock has an opening that will face where the wind is coming from the tail that faces where the wind is going to. A weathervane also points in the direction the wind is coming from. This doesn't make a lot of sense, because you would think the arrow would tell you where the wind is going to. Just remember that is actually pointing toward where the wind is coming from. Obviously, you can also use your index finger after you wet it. The pad of your finger will feel the coolest if it is pointed toward where the wind is coming from.