Waikawau Bay Wind Stats

The figure shows how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal April. The largest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue implies the strength, with dark blue strongest. It is based on 3360 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2007, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Waikawau Bay, located 11 km away (7 miles). There are insufficient recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. Without question some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3. According to the model, the prevailing wind at Waikawau Bay blows from the ENE. If the rose plot shows a nearly round shape, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Waikawau Bay. By contrast, dominant spokes illustrate favoured directions, and the more dark blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical April, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (light blue) about 11% of the time (3 days each April) and blows offshore 31% of the time (1 days in an average April). Over an average April winds stronger than >40kph (25mph) are expected on 2 days at Waikawau Bay

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