David Noone

Wind statistics

The figures show the probability of wind in given wind ranges. The data is from the WMO Integrated Surface Hourly database maintained by NOAA NCDC. Bars show the total probability for times between 10 am and 6 pm local time. The lines above the bars are the probability that the wind strength of the given range is achieved for at least 3 hours during a typical 24 hour for the given month. This gives a measure of variability on any given day, in in particular the chance that you may find stronger winds if you are willing to wait. Still, these statistics don't give any measure of steadiness versus gustiness of the wind. One might argue even though is windier in the continent interiour, the quality of wind at coastal regions may be better.

For each location, links to graphs showing daily variability plot the probability of winds speeds as a function of time of day. This is different for each month so there are 12 graphs for each station. Shading showing the probability, where bright colors show most probable wind speeds (the sum at each time is 100%). Also on each graph are lines showing the mean, and showing the 10, 25, 75 and 90 percentiles, to give another view of the typical ranges. Notice that none of this information describes amount of variability within each day. All times are quited in standard time - you should subtract an hour in summer for daylight savings.

Daily variability: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

Daily variability: Based on 6 hourly obs. not enough to be meaningful.