The graph shows how often and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal January. The longest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue indicates the strength, with the darkest shade of blue strongest. It is based on 1240 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2009, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Whitley Bay, located 29 km away (18 miles). There are not enough recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. Invevitably some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3.

According to the model, the most common wind at Whitley Bay blows from the NNE. If the rose plot shows a nearly round shape, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Whitley Bay. Converseley, dominant spokes show favoured directions, and the more the darkest shade of blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical January, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (pale blue) about 4% of the time (1 days each January) and blows offshore just 22% of the time (2 days in an average January). Over an average January winds stronger than >40kph (25mph) are expected on 2 days at Whitley Bay

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.