Wind rose (meteorology)

Compass rose diagram for New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) 2008

The wind rose is a special form of an axis diagram for displaying meteorological wind data.

history

→ Main article : Origin of the wind rose

An early modern compass rose

During a relatively short period were the compass and wind , which blows from that direction, regarded as virtually synonymous, and the compass rose is found as a predecessor of the compass rose on maps and atlases as aids to navigation again. But even before that, i.e. since about Homer's time (approx. 800 BC), the compass rose was designed for meteorological purposes.

division

Compass roses are mostly divided into 16 directions, i.e. north (N), NE, NE etc., but the division can also be selected for up to 32 directions.

With regard to the angle measurement in degrees, north = 0 ° or 360 °, east = 90 °, south = 180 ° and west = 270 °.

use

Meteorologists use a polar coordinate system in which they enter this data to graphically display wind, along with direction and speed in one place . Even if this complex mapping process hardly bears any resemblance to the sailor's wind rose, the name has been retained.

With the help of the polar grid, the wind situation can be mapped over a long period of time in the wind rose diagram based on the wind direction. In addition, the wind strength is indicated by different colors and the frequency of occurrence with the corresponding segment length.

The creation of a compass rose is one of the preparatory steps in the construction of runways , as airplanes usually find the best take-off and landing conditions against the wind.

The same scheme can be used to create diagrams for other climatically relevant variables such as pressure, temperature or precipitation in order to enable short-term weather forecasts, long-term forecasts and analyzes of mutual dependencies.

See also

• METAR

Web links

Commons : Windrose (Meteorology)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Current distribution of wind direction and wind speed in Germany.
• Compass Rose Charts for the United States. (English)
• Compass rose charts from METAR data for 2011.
• Compass rose charts from METAR data for 2012.
• Compass rose charts from METAR data for 2013.
• Wind Rose graph in Excel (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jan Curtis: Wind Rose Data. NRCS, an agency of the US Department of Agriculture . As of April 26, 2009
2. ↑ Example for the dependence of wind and temperature (PDF) SMHI, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (English)