A weather vane is located on a high structure. It cannot be obstructed by trees or buildings because their purpose is to catch the wind. It can determine from which direction a wind is blowing. In days gone by, weathervanes were very important, especially for farmers, for whom wind and weather were daily considerations.
The earliest weather vane in recorded history was built by the astronomer, Andronicus. It honored the Greek God Triton and was a combination of man and fish. In ancient Greece and Rome, weather vanes depicting the gods adorned the dwellings of wealthy landowners.
With the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, a rooster began to appear on church steeples. It reminded believers of the need to be watchful because Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny him before the cock crowed three times. The tail of a rooster is just the right shape to catch the wind and its force is greater on the tail than the head. It gets pushed away so the head turns into the wind. This is probably why the rooster design remains so popular to this day. It also has symbolic relevance in that it welcomes the dawn and the triumph of light over darkness.
The weather vane is shaped aerodynamically. The one end of its pointer is thicker than the other and has a larger surface area. This enables it to catch wind and turn the pointer. The large end points to where wind is going and the small end to where it is coming from.
A wind vane must be precisely balanced in order to be able to turn freely. Otherwise, it can topple or not move at all. To spin freely, weight has to be distributed equally on both sides of its axis. Some modern weather vanes are made purely for ornamental reasons and do not have this type of balance. They do not show wind direction because they lack this balance.
Beneath the point on a wind vane, it usually has fixed markers. There are four markers for each direction of the compass. If the arrow points toward the marker for south on the vane, it shows that wind is blowing from the south. If it is pointing to the west, wind is blowing from the west and towards the east.
When observers look at changing directions and wind patterns, they can make simple forecasts. Forecasts are based on other factors too, such as knowledge or experience of local climatic conditions. If they know that the north is cold and the south is warm, for example, they know what to expect when wind comes from that direction.
Determining wind direction and what this meant was a daily consideration for farmers. Their first-hand observations, experience and local knowledge helped them in this exercise. Today, we do not need weather vanes for this reason but they continue to retain their appeal. A wide variety are available today in many different designs. Those that are designed correctly, still work in exactly the same way as they have through the centuries whilst others are valued for their aesthetic appeal.
The earliest weather vane in recorded history was built by the astronomer, Andronicus. It honored the Greek God Triton and was a combination of man and fish. In ancient Greece and Rome, weather vanes depicting the gods adorned the dwellings of wealthy landowners.
With the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, a rooster began to appear on church steeples. It reminded believers of the need to be watchful because Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny him before the cock crowed three times. The tail of a rooster is just the right shape to catch the wind and its force is greater on the tail than the head. It gets pushed away so the head turns into the wind. This is probably why the rooster design remains so popular to this day. It also has symbolic relevance in that it welcomes the dawn and the triumph of light over darkness.
The weather vane is shaped aerodynamically. The one end of its pointer is thicker than the other and has a larger surface area. This enables it to catch wind and turn the pointer. The large end points to where wind is going and the small end to where it is coming from.
A wind vane must be precisely balanced in order to be able to turn freely. Otherwise, it can topple or not move at all. To spin freely, weight has to be distributed equally on both sides of its axis. Some modern weather vanes are made purely for ornamental reasons and do not have this type of balance. They do not show wind direction because they lack this balance.
Beneath the point on a wind vane, it usually has fixed markers. There are four markers for each direction of the compass. If the arrow points toward the marker for south on the vane, it shows that wind is blowing from the south. If it is pointing to the west, wind is blowing from the west and towards the east.
When observers look at changing directions and wind patterns, they can make simple forecasts. Forecasts are based on other factors too, such as knowledge or experience of local climatic conditions. If they know that the north is cold and the south is warm, for example, they know what to expect when wind comes from that direction.
Determining wind direction and what this meant was a daily consideration for farmers. Their first-hand observations, experience and local knowledge helped them in this exercise. Today, we do not need weather vanes for this reason but they continue to retain their appeal. A wide variety are available today in many different designs. Those that are designed correctly, still work in exactly the same way as they have through the centuries whilst others are valued for their aesthetic appeal.
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