Wind in Kirkwall
Hourly forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 9:52 pm (GMT)- Gusts
- 17 mph
- Beaufort scale
- 3 · gentle breeze
- Today's peak
- 18 mph at 1:00 pm
- In knots
- 9 kn
Today the wind in Kirkwall is a gentle breeze from the southwest: 8 mph to 18 mph, peaking at 1:00 pm with gusts of 31 mph. No strong wind for the rest of the week.
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, Wed 28 8–18 mph · gusts 31 SW · Beaufort 5
- Thu 29 4–9 mph · gusts 13 S · Beaufort 3
- Fri 30 2–14 mph · gusts 21 S · Beaufort 4
- Sat 31 0–9 mph · gusts 14 NW · Beaufort 3
- Sun 1 2–11 mph · gusts 17 WNW · Beaufort 3
- Mon 2 3–8 mph · gusts 19 WNW · Beaufort 3
- Tue 3 1–6 mph · gusts 13 W · 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) | 17 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 11 |
| Gusts | 30 | 26 | 17 | 14 | 28 | 29 | 22 | 19 |
| Direction | SW | SSW | SSW | SW | WSW | WSW | WSW | WSW |
| Beaufort | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 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) | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Gusts | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 7 |
| Direction | SW | SSW | SSW | SSW | SSW | S | S | SSE |
| Beaufort | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 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 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 3 |
| Gusts | 8 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 13 | 5 |
| Direction | SSE | SSE | S | S | S | S | SSW | SSW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 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 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Gusts | 9 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Direction | WNW | NW | WNW | NNE | ESE | SSW | WNW | NW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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 today.
What 6 forecast models say for the next few days. The closer they are, the more reliable the forecast.
| Wind (mph) | Today | Thu 29 | Fri 30 | Sat 31 | Sun 1 | Mon 2 | Tue 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECMWF | 1828 | 1523 | 1319 | 1421 | 1326 | 1432 | 613 |
| AIFS | 20 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 |
| GFS | 3340 | 2130 | 1924 | 2127 | 2628 | 2026 | 910 |
| ICON | 2340 | 1321 | 1523 | 914 | 711 | 814 | 69 |
| ARPEGE | 2638 | 1524 | 2231 | 1323 | — | — | — |
| ICON-EU | 1831 | 913 | 1421 | 914 | 1117 | — | — |
| Confidence | medium | medium | high | medium | medium | medium | 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 southwest: cross-offshore. Calmer water near the shore, and bait and boats drift out to sea.
The coast here faces north. We work it out from the OpenStreetMap coastline.
How to read the Beaufort scale
| Force | Name | mph | At sea |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Light breeze | 4–7 | Small wavelets |
| 3 | Gentle breeze · today | 8–12 | Scattered whitecaps |
| 4 | Moderate breeze | 13–18 | Frequent whitecaps |
| 5 | Fresh breeze · week peak | 19–24 | Moderate waves, many whitecaps |
| 6 | Strong breeze | 25–31 | Large waves, foam crests |
| 7 | Near gale | 32–38 | Heaped sea, streaks of foam |
Questions about the wind in KirkwallQuestions
What's the wind like today in Kirkwall?
Gentle breeze from the southwest: 10 mph now, peaking at 18 mph at 1:00 pm with gusts of 31 mph.
Which day is windiest this week?
Wednesday 28: up to 18 mph from the southwest, with gusts of 31 mph.
Is it a good day to go fishing by boat?
Today the wind is gentle breeze and waves are 2.3 ft. On Wednesday 28, with gusts of 31 mph, take extra care. Always check official warnings before heading out.
Is today's wind onshore or offshore?
Cross-offshore: the coast faces north.
More about Kirkwall today
Wind near Kirkwall
- Saint Margaret's Hope 10 mph SW · 11 mi
- Stromness 16 mph WSW · 12 mi
- Rackwick 15 mph WSW · 17 mi
- Pierowall 19 mph WSW · 23 mi
- Castletown 5 mph SSW · 31 mi
- Ackergill 7 mph SSW · 37 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). 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 9:52 pm (local time).
Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from