Winds / Ventos
Intensity and Percentage of the frequency of winds at Ponta de São Lourenço. From a study by the distinguished navy officer C. Pinto Basto Carreiro, we extracted the following interesting data:
N 1% 85% 12% 2% NNE - 70% 30% - NE 0.8% 84% 15% 0.2% ENE - 75% 25% - E - 89% 11% - ESE - 83% 17% - SE - 86% 13.6% - SSE - 54.5% 45.5% - S - 74% 23% 3% SSW - 30% 66% 4% SW - 46% 50% 46% WSW - W - 76% 23% 1% WNW - 78% 22% - NW - 85% 14% 1% NNW - 76% 22% 2%
The name Trade Winds is given to the regular winds that blow throughout the year on either side of the Equator with a direction NE - SW in the northern hemisphere and SE in the southern hemisphere.
The trade winds in the North Atlantic are clearly felt on the island of Madeira, sometimes even south of the Portuguese mainland. They blow regularly until near the Equator.
Between the trade winds of the northern hemisphere and those of the southern hemisphere, there is the zone of the equatorial calms. The counter-trades or upper trade winds blow in the high regions of the atmosphere in the opposite direction of the preceding ones.
PERCENTAGE OF WINDS OBSERVED IN S. LOURENÇO DURING THE YEARS 1930, 1931, 1932
By observing the graph of the wind percentages observed in São Lourenço, it can be seen that the predominant winds are from the North, Northeast, and Northwest. The least frequent winds are from ESE, SSE, WSW, and WNW. The winds are observed in São Lourenço and not in Funchal, as the winds that affect the bay are not general, except in the case that they belong to the southern quadrants. Of the southern quadrants, the most frequent winds are from SW and SE.