Roatan Wind Direction

My experience has been when it is windy on the north side, it is calm on the south side and vice versa.
I also felt it was windy on the south side a lot more than the north but much more experienced posters seem to imply the opposite.

I downloaded the Roatan Airport weather station data from:

Weather History for Roatan, Honduras | Weather Underground

and scanned for all the days with >30 km/hr mean wind speed:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ApdV6km-W_dldEJfQ2hxOGZFZncxVFZXOTJELUZVb2c&output=html

Please spot check some of those days to verify the scan.

The airport is on the south side of the island so may not be really reading what is happening on the north side.
But according to those readings, most windy days have an east wind which would be felt worst by south side since the island is slanted.

Does that seem right?

That seems right to me because aside from my time on Roatan, I spend even more time on Ambergris Caye Belize, where the wind and breeze is pretty consistently out of the east. When (in my experience) it has been particularly howling at West End, Roatan, wind has been coming from a more northerly direction and can generally be ascribed to a "norther". On those days dives are better on south side.

Not only is the island "slanted", lying in a stretched out SW-NE line, 17 miles long....

But- the island has a high (650') ridge line, which, across it's narrow width, can have a dramatic shadowing effect.

Other fun stuff to know... if the wind shifts NE, likely there will be rain in the next 24 hours.

beluga2:

My experience has been when it is windy on the north side, it is calm on the south side and vice versa.
I also felt it was windy on the south side a lot more than the north but much more experienced posters seem to imply the opposite.

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Absolutely true- the South side usually has a breeze. When the North and West gets one- hang on to your hat... or just come diving on the South side. I was just there for two weeks in mid-May and the larger/better North/West dive ops were making daily visits to South side dive sites... a bit breezy up that way, I guess.

It's really a matter of degree and intensity. The eons of this prevailing wind have thus shaped the island and also the habitat for sand flies. The North side has been struck by ferocious storms. This results in the extant soil being blown over the steep ridge on to the gently sloping South side. The South was cleared by man and is used for agriculture. The South is relatively devoid of the clutter of the North's decaying vegetable matter and standing water- something found on the North side of the ridgeline. Guess what sand flies like?

The airport is on the south side of the island so may not be really reading what is happening on the north side.

Click to expand...

That would be a good assumption. The airport station is also substantially shadowed by the lee cover of some high terrain and land that juts into the Ocean to the East (near the Mahogany Bay Cruise ship dock).

Another interesting truism about Roatan. The substantial bulk of real estate sales is for lots along the North side. This is because the land was un-built. Think about that. For centuries, the locals concentrated on the South coast with it's harborages and safety from storms. Land prices will prove this- if you can find any South side property to buy.

This doesn't mean that one side is better than the other for tourism. The North/West area offers great diversions in land based fun, like the bars and restaurants- something that disappears on the South side. For diving, I prefer the South side- the weather is much more consistent, you can dive every day of the year, and the critters are unique in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, from the very few dive ops that serve the South side, it's a 25-45 minute cab ride to the night life and that beach of the West end.

Here's the local expert....

But according to those readings, most windy days have an east wind which would be felt worst by south side since the island is slanted.

Does that seem right?

Click to expand...

Felt "worst"? It's a light breeze that keeps the sand flies away. Felt most? Absolutely.

CCV designed their boats specifically for this constant light chop of 1's and 2's. CoCoView added the moonwell entry system which is still very much their standard, Fantasy Island's similar boats (without moonwell) are now out of commission. These are essentially round bottom boats with massive keel weights (see that in the picture? It's solid metal) of solid lead structure.

All other boats are deep vee types, which are ideal for the North and West conditions.