Weather Whys; Windvanes

This is weather-wise. Driving along country roads, it's common to see weather veins adorning the tops of barns and houses. The typical weather vein, or more precisely, wind vein, consists of an arrow with a heavy tail which swings with the wind. There's also a fixed shaft with poles marking the four points of the compass and some sort of figure on top. A perennial wind vein favorite is the rooster. The Bible tells the story of Peter and how he denied being a disciple of Jesus. After his third denial, a rooster crowed three times. So long ago, churches began putting figures of roosters on their weather veins to remind worshipers of that biblical story. In later years, figures of horses and buggies gained popularity. And modern times have seen many different kinds of wind veins made available to the choosy consumer. Now, a proud pewter cat with its tail held high or a leaping dolphin may adorn your personal weather vein.

The variety of wind vein ornaments ranges from trains to treble cluffs. Another modern wind vein looks somewhat ornamental itself. It resembles a small airplane with a propeller, but no wings. Called an arrow vein, it measures both wind direction and speed. The propeller spins at a rate proportional to the wind speed and the device faces into the wind to give the wind direction. But the simplest wind device at all may be the wind sock. Commonly seen at small airports and heliports, the sock is just a conical cloth sleeve open at both ends. It hangs from and swivels around on a pole, aligning itself with the wind and filling out in proportion to the wind speed. But whether wise, our writer is Christine Harbour, edited by Brian Walkie, executive producer Karen Hope. Whether wise was created by William Beasley with original music by Barry Strand. Or whether wise, I'm Drew Barlow.