How To: Interpret a Wind Rose Diagram

A wind rose diagram is a tool which graphically displays wind speed and wind direction at a
particular location over a period of time. The diagrams normally comprises of 8 or 16 radiating
spokes, which represent wind directions in terms of the cardinal wind directions (North East South
West) and their intermediate directions.
Meteorologist use wind rose diagrams to summarise the distribution of wind speed and direction
over a defined observation period. Data is taken from a weather station, which should be a near as
possible to your project /site. Click here to find an appropriate weather station.

What do the Spokes Represent?

Each „Spoke‟ shows:
1. How often the wind blows from each direction
2. How often the wind blows at each pre-defined wind speed bins (shown by the colour bands)
for each wind direction

A wind rose diagram uses a polar coordinate system, whereby data is plotted a certain distance
away from the origin at an angle relative to north. It is possible to create these plots using costly
purpose-made software or, alternatively, very basic wind rose diagrams can be made using
Microsoft Excel (see here). Wind Rose Excel intends to form a half way solution: a means to
produce wind rose plots which are professional and informative, while also ensuring providing
excellent value.

Interpreting a Wind Rose

In Diagram 1 the westerly spoke and its colour bands provides the following information:
 The wind blows from the west (a “westerly”) 12% of the time at location x
 Westerly wind speed distribution for location x:
o 1% of total time the wind blows at 0-2 knots from the west
o 1% of total time the wind blows at 2-3 knots from the west
o 1.5% of total time the wind blows at 4-6 knots from the west
o 3.5% of total time the wind blows at 7-10 knots from the west
o 3% of total time the wind blows at 11-66 knots from the west
o 1% of total time the wind blows at 17-22 knots from the west
o 1% of total time the wind blows at >23 knots from the west

What is Possible using Excel?

 Diagram 2: Wind rose diagram created using Microsoft Excel

When presented with the data required to make a wind rose, the best excel can do is produce a
radar plot as shown by Diagram 2. It is worth noting that it takes considerable time to create a wind
rose in excel. We estimate that it will take an experienced excel user between 2 and 3 hours to
create a wind rose as shown in Diagram 2. This is because the data needs to be adjusted in various
ways to enable the “Filled Radar Plot” to accurately present the data.
It is not possible to create the radial „spokes‟ that are industry standard for wind rose diagrams. In
order to produce spokes, WRE v1.4 is uses VBA coding. The code also automated the process of
creating the wind rose plots, saving considerable time.

What is Possible using WRE v1.4?

 The software transforms the layout of the standard excel radar plot into a succinct graphical
design.
 The diagrams have correctly labelled radial guide lines and spokes, adding credibility to your
report writing.
 The time taken to produce each diagram is reduced to a matter of minutes
 Included in the new WRE 1.4 package is a data sorting tool. This will guide you through the
process of sorting your data into wind speed bins and wind directions (see more info here).