donki

I have been able to find internet sites detailing rainfall, temperature etc in various countries at different times of year but does anyone know of a site that gives details of prevailing wind directions (in Europe)?
Of course wind directions change but it could be worth thinking about while planning a tour? Or not?

marmotte

donki,
this is like in the UK: westwind zone from Island to Malta all over Europa. But - since you're from UK - I think you are used to some hard windy weather. A little european breath will not prevent you from going ahead. And if you're fast enough: the wind always comes from the front.
marmotte

acantor

I have never given a thought to the wind direction when planning tours. Some of my tours have been big loops, so at some point I have dealt with wind coming from every direction. So far, my Point A to B tours were based on where I want to be at the end the tour... sometimes I save the best for last.

On my "best" tours I have meandered here and there, having a general plan but going where fancy strikes. If I were on such a tour and the wind became a impediment, I would go somewhere else, choose a different route, or stop and wait for the wind to die down.

The only time I remember the wind being a factor was on a big old rented clunker in Holland. The wind was so strong I could barely move forward. That was the last time I rented a bike on a tour. Since that time I have brought my own wheels, with bail out gears and drop handlebars to get me through windy conditions and up steep hills.

Sebach

Personally, I generally wouldn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about the wind. Focus instead on what you want to start/end on your tour. If you will be spending doing a relatively linear tour across flat plains, then maybe going with the general wind direction wouldn't be a bad thing. Of course, that's no guarentee either... *twitch*

Someone was gonna say it eventually: no matter what you do, it'll seem like wind will always be in your face anyway.

becnal

Here in Europe, wind blows west from east. Call me a sissy if you like, but I prefer to take that info into account when planning a tour.

jens5

I spent weeks fighting head winds in Europe because I did not check prevailing winds. I started in Luxembourg the end of May, across the Moselle into Germany. Austria. Trained across the Dolomites. Rode East to West across Italy.(Vicious headwind the entire way) France, Belgium and the circumference of Holland then back to Luxembourg. I'd estimate 1week out of 6 that I had the wind in my favor. It was silly of me not checking weather, which includes wind for time of year before the tour.

Richard

gizem310

The question is, what would you have done differently if you knew the wind direction?

Flic

did you end up finding a site that told you the prevailing winds?

xilios

Check out this site, just type in the dates you would like to see the history off.
https://www.knmi.nl/klimatologie/daggegevens/index.cgi
hope it helps some

donki

Flic, no I didn't in the form I would have liked i.e. a map with arrows showing the direction and magnitude of the prevailing wind. I reckon it would be quite useful when planning a tour.

stokell

Such as this



There is an animated one.

donki

Many thanks stokell,
All I need now is prevailing wind directions in each month and for Europe.

stokell

I actually do a log. This requires a bit of planning, but BBC weather has accurate weather for much of the world. I find the relative humidity almost as important as wind speed and direction. If when the wind blows out of the north, it blows really hard you might want to avoid going directly north although the prevailing wind might be out of the west at a much lower speed.

For instance, I'm doing the North Sea Route this year between Bologne sur Mer, France and Den Helder, Netherlands. I've been logging wind speed and direction as well as temp and humidity. Not only did I find that April and May have more sunshine than June and July, they have the same amount of rain. April is off season so that means fewer tourists and cheaper prices. I was trying to decide which direction to travel and I discovered that the wind is out of the north and west much more often and when there is a south or easterly wind, it is not as strong. The obvious answer is to start in Den Helder.

When I first started, I would never bother doing this kind of research. I was afterall usually doing a circular route and I figured, I'd have my face into the wind at least half the time anyway. Then I realized that wind patterns are often set by geography. It rains in the lea of mountains, coastlines are windier. IMO it's wise to do weather logs even if you always travel in circles.

Erick L

I searched quite a bit for Europe and some individual countries and concluded you need some Canucks to help with weather stats. It's a national sport here, before hockey.
Averages in Canada: https://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec....index_e.html?&

A list to national weather services: https://www.windlords.com/weather/national.htm
Most are a pain to navigate through.

Ireland
Scotland
England
Wales

I may be wrong but I don't think the prevailing winds in Europe prevail as much as in Canada. At least not over long distances. Here we have two large mountain ranges, huge prairies, one large inland body of water and a large corridor stretching from the american southwest to the northest St-Lawrence. Europe is broken up in smaller pieces, where local patterns might me more important. Even in the more compact USA, the prevailing winds are not as clear-cut as in Canada. That's just my theory.

acantor

My understanding -- and I have no expert knowledge of the subject -- is that the prevailing winds at ground level are strongly affected by local geographical features such as body of waters (lakes, oceans, etc.), hills, mountains, and forests. For example, if there is a strong wind blowing from north to south, and you are heading north up a hillside, you may not even notice the wind because you are sheltered by the hill. While riding along the shore of a lake, the wind
off the surface of the water may be more noticeable than the prevailing wind that you may experience inland.

In short, the direction of the prevailing wind may be less important than the influences of local geography.

EuropeonaFriday

You are not a sissy! I have a background in Geography and Science and always try to take dominant wind direction into account. A coupe of years ago we rode up the Loire River from St Nazaire to Never. Over the time we rode we only had a head wind for a day. Tourers coming in the opposite direction, that is east to west were suffering from wind burn!

Doug64

Try this site. It can give information on specific areas Average Weather

Machka 

Aren't you using Windy yet?

https://www.windy.com/

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...611-windy.html

John N

For comprehensive climate averages for most of the world, check out WeatherSpark.com. Tailwinds, John

JaccoW

I ride along the coast quite often in the Netherlands and its always a crapshoot if I have a headwind going North or if it even stays the same on the way down South or the other way around. Especially along the coast it can (and probably will) differ depending on the time of day.

indyfabz

IDK...Nearly 13 years have passed since he made that proclamation. Things can change in that amount of time.

2zweelabout

Windy.com is indeed helpful knowing what may be blowing your way. Even watching local or worldwide thunderstorms, etc. on the site is enjoyable......

becnal

I can absolutely confirm I have indeed become a sissy in the meantime.

HerrKaLeun

Google for prevailing winds at the location of interest.

In the Netherlands wind comes FROM West in February. So if you ride TOWARDS West along the coast for 4 days, you are slow and get a workout. Ask me how I know....

djb

That really made me chuckle
13 years later, that's funny.