6/19/2017 |WeatherData:WindDirection|ArchivedEcotectWIKI

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WEATHER DATA: WIND DIRECTION arc hiv e s it e f or aut odes k ec ot ec t analy s is educ at ional res ourc es , not es and t ut orials

Winddataisrelativelydifficulttodisplayandanalyseindetail.Thisisbecausebothitsdirectionandspeedchangefrequently,soanygraphicaldisplaymust
alsohaveatimeorfrequencydimension.Unfortunately,themostavailableformofwinddatafromanymeteorologicalstationissimplystatisticaltables
which are very laborious to analyse and understand. However, most stations also keep hourly records of speed and direction. Whilst such long lists of
meaninglessnumbersareevenmoredifficulttounderstandthansummarytables,theyareperfectforcomputerbasedanalysis.TheWeatherToolavailable
atthissiteprovidesauniquesystemfordisplayingandanalysinghourlywinddata,asshowninFigure1below.

Figure1AnnualhourlywinddirectiondataforNewYork,USA.

Select Wind Data: :: Annual Frequency :: Annual Avg.Temperature :: Annual Rel.Humidity :: Annual Rainfall :: Frequency Summer :: Frequency
Autumn::FrequencyWinter::FrequencySpring::AnnualComparison::MonthlyComparison

Thissysteminvolvesanalysingwinddatainto16differentdirections,eachcentredonamultipleof22.5(360/16).Thespeedofthewindcanthenbe
representedasadistancefromthecentreofapolarchart.

Thisisdonein10concentricringsforwindsupto50km/h.Thisgivesagridontowhichvariouspropertiesofthewindeachhourcanbeplottedusinga
colourscaletoindicaterelativefrequency.Thebenefitofthissystemisthataveragetemperature,humidityandrainfallcanbedisplayedaswellaswind
frequency.Thechartscanalsobegeneratedforanyrangeofdatesandtimes,makingitpossibletocomparesummerafternoonswithwintermornings,etc.

Asanexample,bylookingatthevariousplotsavailableinFigure1above,itisquiteclearthatNewYorkexperiencesregularsoutherlyandsouthwesterly
windsthroughoutmostoftheyear,exceptinwinterwherewindtendtobemorefromthenorthwest.Thesoutherlywindsalsotendtobethewarmestand
themosthumid.Therainfallgraphalsoshowsdrivingrainsfromthesouthaccompaniedbyupto55km/hwinds.

Suchinformationisvitaltothedesignerwhenconsideringrainprotection,thebestlocationforoutdoorareasandnaturalventilationpathways.Clickherefor
anexampleofhowclimatedatacanbeusedatthepredesignstagetodeterminetheviabilityofanightpurgesystem.

Wind R oses

Anotherwayofdisplayingwinddataistoshowitsrelativefrequencyasradiatinglinesfromanoctagonalchart.Eachdirectionhas12lines,oneforeach
monthoftheyearrunninginaclockwisedirectionaroundthechart.Eachlineonthechartrepresentsthepercentageoftimepermonththatwindscame
fromeachoftheresulting8directions.Thus,basedonthedottedlinerepresenting12.5%,ifyouaddedupthelengthsofeachmonth's8lines,theywould
addupto100%.

Figure2Theoctagonalwindrose,showingdataforPerth,WesternAustralia.

Theresultisadiagramwhichclearlyshowsthedominantwinddirectionsthroughoutthedifferentmonthsoftheyear.Suchdiagramsdonotclearlyshow
diurnalchangesinwinddirection.Thustwodiagramsarenormallyconstructed,onefor9amtoshowmorningpatternsandoneat3pmtoshowafternoons.

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