Canal Wind Stats

This picture illustrates how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal August. The largest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue indicates the strength, with deep blue strongest. It is based on 3574 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2006, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Canal, located 7 km away (4 miles). There are not enough recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. No doubt some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3. According to the model, the most common wind at Canal blows from the S. If the rose graph shows a fairly circular pattern, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Canal. By contrast, dominant spokes represent favoured directions, and the more dark blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical August, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (the lightest shade of blue) about 12% of the time (4 days each August) and blows offshore 36% of the time (11 days in an average August). Over an average August winds exceeding >40kph (25mph) are not expected, but 2 have winds on the range 30-40 (19-25) at Canal

read more