The weather vane is made up of a tail and arrow. The tail fin catches the wind and the arrow points toward the direction the wind is blowing FROM. If the arrow on the weather vane is pointing north then it means there is a north wind. Meteorologists use wind direction to get a sense of what kind of weather is coming.

What were weather vanes used for?

A wind vane (also known as a weathervane) is an instrument that tells you the wind direction. Specifically, a wind vane lets you know what direction the wind is coming from.

A weather vane (weathervane), wind vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind.

Who uses weather vanes?

The main purpose of a weather vane is to help assess the weather. Meteorologists then use these measurements to predict weather patterns. Knowing which direction as well as speed and pressure the wind is coming from can help weather forecasters predict when storm patterns and heat waves will arrive at a city or county.

Wind vane will always point to the direction from which the wind is blowing. I.E., if wind is blowing from East to West, then the arrow of the wind vane points to ‘East’.