Wind in Helmsdale
Hourly forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 4:20 am (GMT)- Gusts
- 12 mph
- Beaufort scale
- 1 · light air
- Today's peak
- 6 mph at 1:00 pm
- In knots
- 3 kn
Today the wind in Helmsdale is a light air from the west-southwest: 3 mph to 6 mph, peaking at 1:00 pm with gusts of 17 mph. The windiest day of the week is Friday 30: up to 9 mph from the south-southwest, with gusts of 24 mph.
Wind for the next 7 days, hour by hour
Arrows point where the wind blows to, every 12 hours. Each hour comes from the best model covering this spot: regional ones first (HRRR and NBM in the U.S., AROME, ICON-EU), then ECMWF and GFS.
- Today, Thu 29 3–6 mph · gusts 17 SW · Beaufort 2
- Fri 30 2–9 mph · gusts 24 SSW · Beaufort 3
- Sat 31 0–7 mph · gusts 17 NW · Beaufort 2
- Sun 1 3–7 mph · gusts 16 WNW · Beaufort 2
- Mon 2 3–6 mph · gusts 15 NW · Beaufort 2
- Tue 3 0–7 mph · gusts 8 SSW · Beaufort 2
- Wed 4 3–6 mph · gusts 12 WSW · Beaufort 2
Every 3 hours
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Gusts | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 |
| Direction | WSW | WSW | WSW | SW | S | SSW | S | SSW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Model | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Gusts | 13 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 16 | 10 | 10 |
| Direction | SSE | SSE | S | S | SSW | SSW | WSW | WNW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Model | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Gusts | 10 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 17 |
| Direction | NW | N | NNE | NE | ENE | W | W | WNW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Model | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Gusts | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 10 |
| Direction | NW | WNW | WNW | WNW | WNW | NW | WNW | WNW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Model | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU | ICON-EU |
Do the models agree on the wind?
Medium confidenceThey roughly agree; there's more spread in the wind on Saturday 31.
What 6 forecast models say for the next few days. The closer they are, the more reliable the forecast.
| Wind (mph) | Today | Fri 30 | Sat 31 | Sun 1 | Mon 2 | Tue 3 | Wed 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECMWF | 1020 | 1323 | 1627 | 1425 | 1125 | 68 | 612 |
| AIFS | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| GFS | 715 | 1016 | 1321 | 1221 | 919 | 44 | 34 |
| ICON | 715 | 1023 | 919 | 919 | 513 | 410 | 410 |
| ARPEGE | 713 | 916 | 1631 | 921 | — | — | — |
| ICON-EU | 617 | 924 | 717 | 716 | — | — | — |
| Confidence | high | high | medium | high | high | high | high |
Each model's day runs midnight to midnight local time; models that reach fewer days are left blank. Rain: daily total. Wind: the day's highest average wind and, in small type, the strongest gust. Highlighted: values that stand out from the rest. The chance of rain comes from many runs of the same model with slightly different starting data.
Onshore or offshore wind?
Today, from the west-southwest: cross-offshore. Calmer water near the shore, and bait and boats drift out to sea.
On Friday 30, from the south-southwest: cross-shore.
The coast here faces southeast. We work it out from the OpenStreetMap coastline.
How to read the Beaufort scale
| Force | Name | mph | At sea |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Calm | 0–1 | Sea like a mirror |
| 1 | Light air · today | 1–3 | Ripples, no foam |
| 2 | Light breeze | 4–7 | Small wavelets |
| 3 | Gentle breeze · week peak | 8–12 | Scattered whitecaps |
| 4 | Moderate breeze | 13–18 | Frequent whitecaps |
| 5 | Fresh breeze | 19–24 | Moderate waves, many whitecaps |
Questions about the wind in HelmsdaleQuestions
What's the wind like today in Helmsdale?
Light air from the west-southwest: 3 mph now, peaking at 6 mph at 1:00 pm with gusts of 17 mph.
Which day is windiest this week?
Friday 30: up to 9 mph from the south-southwest, with gusts of 24 mph.
Is it a good day to go fishing by boat?
Today the wind is light air and waves are 0.8 ft. No strong gusts expected this week. Always check official warnings before heading out.
Is today's wind onshore or offshore?
Cross-offshore: the coast faces southeast.
More about Helmsdale today
Wind near Helmsdale
- Dunbeath 3 mph SSW · 12 mi
- Golspie 0 mph ENE · 15 mi
- Tain 5 mph SSW · 26 mi
- Spinningdale 1 mph ESE · 27 mi
- Edderton 2 mph SE · 27 mi
- Burghead 4 mph S · 29 mi
Only places with a different forecast: spots a few miles apart share the same model cell and wouldn't add anything.
Learn more
Wind: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0, with the best model for each spot and lead time (NOAA HRRR and NBM in the U.S., Météo-France AROME, DWD ICON-EU, ECMWF IFS and NOAA GFS; the table shows each hour's model); offshore, ECMWF and GFS at the nearest sea grid point, 8.8 mi away. Coast orientation: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Forecast from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) with models from ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France, DWD, Copernicus Marine and CAMS. Updated at 4:20 am (local time).
Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from