Palplanche Wind Stats

This picture describes how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal May. The largest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue indicates the strength, with dark blue strongest. It is based on 2838 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2007, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Palplanche, located 27 km away (17 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 dominant wind at Palplanche blows from the SSW. If the rose graph shows a fairly circular pattern, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Palplanche. Converseley, dominant spokes show favoured directions, and the more deep blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical May, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (light blue) about 17% of the time (5 days each May) and blows offshore 36% of the time (11 days in an average May). Over an average May winds exceeding >40kph (25mph) are not expected, but 0 have winds on the range 30-40 (19-25) at Palplanche

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