Which direction does the arrow on a weather vane point?

The direction that the wind is blowing.

Are you serious?

I think it’s the direction the wind is blowing.

Most weather vanes are designed to point “into” the wind. In other words, they point to the direction that the wind comes from.

You can tell which way a weather vane will point by looking at the area exposed to the wind on both sides of the pivot point. The wind will have more effect on the end of the pointer with more area exposed, and that end of the pointer will be “downwind”. That makes the arrow (always the smaller area in any vane I’ve ever seen) point into the wind.

On most weather vanes the arrow points into the wind.

Yes, it works very much in the same way as an umbrella in a hurricane does…gone with the wind & no….I don’t give a damn! ;¬}

Just wanted to add that on most weather vanes there is a larger flat piece on the tail end of the arrow. It is this flat piece that provides the most resistance when the wind blows, thus pointing the pointy part of the arrow into the wind.

It points into the wind. When the weather announcer says “There is a strong North wind” that means the wind is coming from the North. Your weather vane will point North.
Think of it as “Winds from the North at 10 mph.”

By the way if you look at your weather vane you can watch how a hurricane moves past your location – even if it is hundreds of miles away..

Okay people, let’s not get it all confused now…

A Weather Vane or Weather Cock is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind.

So, in other words. If the wind is travelling from the North to the South, the weather cock will point North; the direction of the wind.

Not true, @erichw1504. Not true in most cases, anyway. Find me a weather vane that points downwind, and I’ll find you a hundred that point into the wind.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s certainly non-standard.

@erichw1504 Right at that source it says The side with the larger surface area is blown away from the wind direction, so that the smaller side, with the pointer, is pivoted to face the wind direction. Most wind vanes have directional markers beneath the arrow, aligned with the geographic directions.

I’ve never seen a working weather vane point anywhere but in the wind direction.

@Dutchess_III To see if said weather vane is working properly, check which way a flag is blowing. That’s usually the quickest way to see the wind direction.

I liked the first three answers (and yes @MilkyWay, I was serious. Did you know it points in the direction the wind is blowing FROM? It doesn’t point in the direction the wind is blowing TO.) Up until today I thought the weather vane pointed in the direction the wind was blowing. It doesn’t.

@erichw1504 Had it right. If it is blowing FROM the north to the south, it will turn upwind toward the north.

Did you know it points in the direction from which the wind is blowing? It doesn’t point in the direction to which the wind is blowing.

Yes. Read the posts. However, until today I just assumed it was pointing in the direction the wind was blowing (as, I think most people who don’t use weather vanes do.) Then I had reason to really think about it for the first time in my life and I realized I was wrong. Hence this question.

@erichw1504 I think you confused people by stating “the direction of the wind” without clarifying whether it was the direction the wind was coming from or the direction the wind was blowing to.

Heh heh! The first three answers, which were wrong, got GA’s all over the place! Not so with the right answers!

* Puts on shocked face :O *
I’m incredibly sorry @Dutchess_III… It seems I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me for that bit of sarcasm up there. I truly am sorry.

from which or to which?

@MilkyWay : ) We live and learn! That’s how we learn to pause before we speak. When you see someone you know isn’t stupid asking what appears to be a stupid question…that’s when you pause and listen. I didn’t realize it either until I sat down today and thought about it. And I’ve been here a lot longer than you. : )

@breedmitch The arrow points in the direction the wind is coming from. Not the direction the wind is blowing to.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows…”

I’m aware of how a weather vane works. I’ve just been correcting your dangling prepositions this whole thread.

You’re an English teacher, right?

No, I’m not. Even if I was I wouldn’t want to have casual conversation sounding like I have a corn cob stuck up my butt.