This image describes how often and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal September. The longest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue implies the strength, with the strongest winds shown by dark blue. It is based on 1680 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2006, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Fortunes Rocks Beach, located 30 km away (19 miles). There are too few 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 Fortunes Rocks Beach blows from the ESE. If the rose diagram shows a close to circular outline, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Fortunes Rocks Beach. Converseley, dominant spokes show favoured directions, and the more dark blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical September, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (pale blue) about 12% of the time (4 days each September) and blows offshore 29% of the time (8 days in an average September). Over an average September winds exceeding >40kph (25mph) are not expected, but 2 have winds on the range 30-40 (19-25) at Fortunes Rocks Beach

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.