The graph describes how often and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal October. The longest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue suggests the strength, with the darkest shade of blue showing the strongest winds. It is based on 1736 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2006, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Playa del Macao, located 25 km away (16 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 prevailing wind at Playa del Macao blows from the NNE. If the rose diagram shows a close to circular outline, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Playa del Macao. By contrast, dominant spokes represent favoured directions, and the more deep blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical October, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (the lightest shade of blue) about 8% of the time (2 days each October) and blows offshore 13% of the time (4 days in an average October). Over an average October winds exceeding >40kph (25mph) are not expected, but 0 have winds on the range 30-40 (19-25) at Playa del Macao

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.