Weather Links/Resources

What does the wind direction in degrees mean?

Wind direction is measured in degrees, similar to reading a compass, and is reported as the direction the wind is blowing FROM.

East = 90 degrees
South = 180 degrees
West = 270 degrees
North = 360 degrees

For example, if the wind direction is 45 degrees, the winds are coming out of the northeast and blowing towards the southwest. This would be called a northeasterly wind.

What is a Wind Rose?

A wind rose is a graphical representation of the wind speed and wind direction for a set of given dates at a particular location. The wind rose can be representative of the wind for a single month, a single year or a long-term average by month or year.

There are two graphics for each wind rose. One graphic depicts the average wind speed by wind direction in miles per hour. The other graphic represents the percentage of frequency by wind direction.

Click for wind rose graphic in new window (pdf)

The Midwestern Regional Climate Center can generate wind roses for most major cities across the Midwestern United States. Tabular numeric data are also available. To find out further what wind roses are available, please contact the MRCC.