Windrosen

Windrosen, or wind rose, is a graphical tool used in meteorology and related fields to summarize how wind speed and direction are distributed at a location over a specified period. It is typically depicted as a circular diagram showing the frequency of winds from different compass directions, often with wind speed information encoded by color or ring.

In a standard wind rose, the circle is divided into directional sectors (for example 16 or 8 compass points). The length or area of each sector represents the proportion of time the wind came from that direction within the observation period. Wind speed categories are shown by colors or by concentric rings; higher speeds may use warmer colors or outer rings. Some wind roses display distributions for different time scales (hourly, daily, seasonal).

Data for wind roses come from meteorological observations, weather stations, or reanalysis datasets, typically aggregated over months or years to reflect climatology. The choice of period affects the representation of prevailing winds and seasonality.

Uses: In wind energy, wind roses help assess resource quality and turbine siting by indicating prevailing wind directions and typical wind speeds. In architecture and urban planning, they inform building orientation, street canyon design, and airflow considerations. In aviation and maritime contexts, wind roses support operational planning and safety.

Limitations: A wind rose summarizes distribution but not temporal correlations, gustiness, or seasonal cycles unless multiple roses are used; it does not substitute for detailed statistics or time-series analyses.