Live wind direction for your location or any city worldwide — compass bearing, a 24-hour trend chart, a 24-hour forecast, and a live wind map, alongside speed and gusts.
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📊 Live Wind Direction Reading
Wind Direction
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Compass Point
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Coming From
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Wind Speed
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Gusts
-- km/h
Temperature
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📉 24-Hour Wind Direction Trend
Wind Direction (°) — Last 24 Hours
Wind direction is plotted in degrees (0–360°) rather than as a filled area, since direction wraps around rather than rising and falling like a normal value.
Does wind direction describe where wind is going, or where it's from?
Meteorological convention names wind by where it's blowing from. A "northerly wind" blows from the north toward the south — the opposite of how ocean currents are typically named, which is a common source of confusion.
Why does wind direction shift through the day?
Local heating creates small-scale pressure differences — for example, sea breezes that blow onshore in the afternoon as land heats faster than water, then reverse offshore overnight as the land cools. Larger shifts usually mark a frontal system passing through.
What does a "veering" or "backing" wind mean?
A veering wind shifts clockwise (e.g. south to southwest to west) and typically signals an improving, clearing pattern in the mid-latitudes. A backing wind shifts anticlockwise and often signals a deteriorating pattern with rain approaching — a distinction sailors and pilots watch closely.
How precise is a single direction reading?
Surface wind direction can be gusty and variable, especially near buildings, trees or hills. The chart and forecast above smooth this out over time, which gives a more reliable picture of the prevailing direction than any single instantaneous reading.
Current Wind Direction Near Me and Worldwide
This page shows the live wind direction for your location or any city worldwide, as a compass bearing in degrees and as a 16-point compass name, alongside wind speed, gusts and temperature — plus a 24-hour trend chart, a 24-hour forecast, and a live wind-flow map.
How Wind Direction Is Measured and Named
Wind direction is measured in degrees on a 360° compass, with 0°/360° as due north, 90° as east, 180° as south, and 270° as west. By convention, wind is named for the direction it blows from — a "westerly" wind blows from the west toward the east.
Reading the Trend Chart and Forecast
The chart above plots direction in degrees over the last 24 hours. Because direction wraps around (359° and 1° are almost the same direction), a sudden jump on the chart usually reflects that wraparound rather than an actual abrupt shift — check the compass point label if a jump looks surprising. The forecast strip extends the picture forward to +24 hours.
The 16-Point Compass
Beyond the four cardinal points (N, E, S, W) and four intercardinal points (NE, SE, SW, NW), meteorologists commonly use a 16-point compass (adding NNE, ENE, ESE, SSE, SSW, WSW, WNW, NNW) for finer resolution — the same system used in the reference table above.
Wind Direction in Major Cities
Check current wind direction in cities such as London, San Francisco, and Sydney, or search any location above.