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Where do you find a weather vane store? What are they for?

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Did every town have a weather vane store a century ago? No, likely the local blacksmith served as the weather vane store as well.

Visual recollections of the dust bowl of 1930s often include one of these things displayed at a prominent location. Often the silhouette of a rooster, moose, pig, dog, cat, other animals or things such as airplanes remains a pleasant memory.

Example of airplane weather vanes. If you are looking for a first-class handmade, or even a custom, weather vane for your estate, scroll down the surprising selection at http://www.westcoastweathervanes.com/

Remember what weather vanes, sometimes misspelled weather vains, were for? Wind direction indicators showing which way it was going.

Air in motion

That's what wind is. It has nothing to do with hot air coming from Washington.

So what is wind caused by and how do we measure it?

Officially, for forecasting purposes, wind is measured at a height of 10 metres, about 33 feet. Reported directions are the directions FROM which the wind blows.

For instance, a north wind is metaphoric for colder weather. Air flow measures indicate both velocity and direction.

Environment Canada weather forecasts, and those produced in other countries, rely heavily on wind speed and direction data. One of the most fundamental elements for surface weather analysis.

With wind data loggers or computers, you can make the weather vane store the wind direction information in a log file.



What is the opposite of windy? CALM.

Opposite of steady wind? GUSTY. Gusts are changes in wind speeds, constant fluctuations. Squalls are gusts on steroids; they're stronger and last longer.

Wind vector information is extremely important to sailors and pilots. They probably do not need a weather vane store, as they now rely on the government weather services.

Maybe you do not need a weather vane either, but think they look great. If that's the case, check out these weather vane pictures for sale.

A weather vane storehouse of information.

Ever heard of the Beaufort scale? This two hundred-year-old system uses a combination of subjective and objective criteria for wind speeds, but can be translated to specific speeds as follows:

ZERO means calm. Speed is essentially zero. Autumn blaze maple trees and leaves remain still; smoke pictures show it rising straight up; sea is level and calm, mirror like.

ONE on the Beaufort Wind Scale is called light air. Speed is 1 to 3 miles per hour (1 to 5 km/h). Tree leaves don't move; smoke drifts slowly; motion of wind shown by smoke but not by vane, and smooth sea is lightly rippled. If ZERO and ONE were the only winds we had, we would not need a weather vane store.

TWO is a slight breeze. Speed is 4 to 7 mph (6 to 11 km/h). Tree leaves rustle; flags wave slightly; Vanes show wind direction; small wavelets or scale waves. Most wind chimes will ring lightly.

THREE is a gentle breeze. Speed is 8 to 11 mph (12 to 19 km/h). Leaves and twigs in constant motion; small flags extended; long unbreaking waves.

FOUR is a moderate breeze. Speed is 12 to 18 mph (20 to 29 km/h). Small branches move; flags flap; waves with whitecaps. This should be enough energy transfer to operate most wind mills and wind power generators.

FIVE is a fresh breeze. 19 to 24 mph (30 to 38 km/h). Wind chill scale very significant as body heat dissipates quickly, if temperature is cool. Small trees sway; flags flap and ripple; moderate waves with many whitecaps.

SIX is a strong breeze. 25 to 31 mph (39 to 50 km/h). Large branches sway; umbrellas used with difficulty; flags and clothing beat and pop; larger waves with regular whitecaps.

SEVEN is a moderate gale. 32 to 38 mph (51 to 61 km/h). Sea heaps up, white foam streaks; whole trees sway; large waves. Better to close storm windows; difficult to walk like this video shows:

EIGHT is a fresh gale. 39 to 46 mph (62 to 74 km/h). Hang onto your clothes. Twigs break off trees; moderately high sea with blowing foam.

NINE is a strong gale. 47 to 54 mph (75 to 89 km/h). Branches break off trees; tiles blown from roofs public seeking insurance liability for wind damage; high crested waves.

TEN is a whole gale. 55 to 64 mph (90 to 103 km/h). Some trees blown down; damage to buildings and storm doors; high churning white seas and exceptionally high waves hiding ships from view. Winds like this will keep the weather vane store in business, likely due to replacements.

ELEVEN is a gale storm. 65 to 74 mph (104 to 119 km/h). Widespread damage to trees and buildings; mountainous waves. Serious attempts at mitigating wind damage. Sea covered in white foam.

TWELVE is called a hurricane. The ultimate target of storm chasing, with speeds over 75 mph (120 km/h). Severe and extensive structural damage and rain forest destruction on land and storm waves at sea.

Shelter from Tornadoes

Hurricanes and tornadoes have their own systems of classifications. People seek storm shelters in these conditions. See Saffir-Simpson and Fujita Scale info.

If the direction changes by at least 45° from one record to the next, we have a wind shift.

Wind force measurements.

How do we measure wind speed? Wind-force gauges such as anemometers rotate at a speed which can be directly interpreted as a wind speed. Most designs use cups or blades on a wheel to catch the wind energy.

And by the conservation energy law Newton’s physics would have that energy manifest itself elsewhere. In this case the dial, display or recording.

Anyway, you can also find anemometers at the weather vane store; often the wind direction sensor wind speed sensor are built together.

Some sit on a pivot like swivel bar stools, which turn around, always making the measuring device face into the wind. The rotating part and its indicator form a weather vane and indicates the wind direction.

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Once you get to a weather vane store page, see the different animal-shaped, decorative and other innovative items...as well as gives a variety of anemometers - instruments for measuring wind speed.

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Go back from Weather Vane Store to the Weather Equipment web page.