Long before we were able to tap a weather app on our phones, our ancestors relied on rudimentary tools and common knowledge to predict the weather. One of the earliest tools, over 2000 years old, is the weather vane. A weather vane indicates the direction of the wind which, in turn, helps predict the weather.
These days in the midst of extreme weather around the world, we’re reminded almost daily of the critical importance and often disastrous impacts of the weather. We are, arguably, more aware of the weather than we’ve ever been. Of course, anyone involved in the planting, growing and harvesting of crops is attuned to the weather—as attuned as our farming and fishing forefathers would have been. Those same forefathers would have used weather vanes to understand the wind and help predict the weather.
It seems logical, therefore, that a weather vane would feature a farmer or gardener. But weather vanes like this one from historic Pashley Manor in Ticehurst, United Kingdom seem to be quite rare.
“The little we know about the first use of weather vanes comes mostly from archeological research.” says author Charles Klamkin in his book Weather Vanes: The History, Design, and Manufacture of an American Folk Art. “The earliest vane of which we have a record was the one on the Tower of Winds built by Andronicus in Athens during the first century, B.C. We know from contemporary descriptions that this vane took the form of Triton, a sea god of Greek mythology, who had the head and upper body of a man and the tail of a fish. A pointed wand in the sea god’s hand indicated the direction from which the wind was blowing. … We can also assume that smaller, more simple vanes may have been in service many centuries before this one was made.”
Although I wasn’t able to confirm it, the splendid weather vane on the Delfland Water Authority building in Delft Netherlands also appears to depict Triton.
Weather vanes are created with a surprising variety of symbols and figures—the most common and easily recognized is the rooster. As explained by Wikipedia, “Pope Gregory I said that the cock ‘was the most suitable emblem of Christianity’, being the emblem of St Peter, a reference to Luke 22:34 in which Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows.” Klamkin elaborates “a papal edict declared that the symbol of a rooster be installed at the top of every church in Christendom. … The cock on the steeple was an admonition to the faithful to come to services so as not to deny Christ as Peter had done.”
The rooster weather vane is so common, the term “weathercock” is used interchangeably with the term “weather vane”.
Shown below, an eye-catching, golden rooster sits atop a weather vane at the Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina.
It’s difficult to get a clear view of the weather vane atop the spectacular, 85-meter (275-ft), tower of the Westerkerk in Amsterdam Netherlands. But closer inspection reveals it, too, is a golden rooster.
Here’s another example of a rooster on a weather vane. This copper beauty sits atop St. Johns Tavern in Crystal River, Florida.
On a recent visit to Japan, I mistook the spectacular golden bird on top of the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple) in Kyoto Japan for a rooster weather vane. But it’s not. The bird is a phoenix (aka Asian or Chinese phoenix) which, according to Wikipedia, “was a symbol of the imperial house, and it represented fire, the sun, justice, obedience, and fidelity”. This phoenix is stationary and does not move with the wind.
A phoenix also tops the beautiful, wooden bridge, known as the Taihei-kaku, in the gardens of the Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto, Japan.
As ubiquitous as the rooster appears to be, other weather vane motifs were introduced.
“During the middle ages, as nobility gained ascendancy, at least equal importance with the church, weather vanes with heraldic motifs began to appear.” reports Klamkin. “The insignia of a nobleman’s coat of arms, carried on a banner and supported by a rod to keep it unfurled, provided quick recognition of the noble and his retinue to friend and foe. From the banner it was a simple progression to make insignia in metal and place it on top of a castle for use as a weather vane. Vanes suggesting banners, pennants, and flags remained one of the most popular motifs throughout England and Europe for many centuries.”
Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, United Kingdom, considered the epitome of English gardening with its abundant floral plantings and themed garden rooms, has an excellent example of a banner weather vane at the top of its three-story, brick tower. 
Sissinghurst Tower also boasts an outstanding view of the gardens.
“The banners which flew from medieval towers in Briton, Normandy, and Germany were the ancestors to our modern weather vane. The word ‘vane’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘fane’, meaning flag. Originally, fabric pennants would show the archers the direction of the wind.” elaborates an exhibit sign at Leu Gardens.
Another example of a weather vane featuring a banner can be seen atop the steeple spire of Berea College Danforth Chapel in Berea Kentucky.
In Sherbrooke Village, an 1867 living museum in Nova Scotia Canada, both the church and the schoolhouse sport weather vanes. Shown in the left inset below, is the St James Presbyterian Church weather vane with a banner. The Schoolhouse copula, bell and rooster weather vane are shown in the right inset.
In time, weather vanes became more decorative and a variety of forms were created. Weather vanes came to represent the interests and pastimes of the owners. Popular forms included eagles and other patriotic figures; barnyard animals; horses and early automobiles; wildlife such as birds and fish; sports such as hunting, shooting and fishing; mythological and religious figures; ships and boats; trains and fire engines.
Occasionally, the weather vane doubled as a trade sign to communicate commercial interests. Here’s an example—a stunning gilded sailing ship atop a gorgeous Baroque-façade building along the Korenlei in Ghent, Belgium. The building was formerly called “Gildehuis der Unvrij Schippers” meaning the “Guild House of the Unfree Skippers” and dates back to 1739.
Not all weather-vane symbolism is as obvious as a sailing ship on a building for skippers. The weather vane atop Faneuil Hall in Boston Massachusetts, for instance, is in the form of a grasshopper. It was created in 1742 by the Deacon Shem Drowne who was the first documented weather vane maker in America. A similar grasshopper weather vane is displayed at Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida. The accompanying sign explains “The grasshopper represents wisdom and nobility according to historic references on heraldry and coats of arms. Two Hundred and sixty years ago, Faneuil Hall was built near the then water’s edge, with the grasshopper vane honoring the water and sea and wisdom and nobility. Symbolically, this grasshopper sits on top of the primary well water source for Leu Gardens.”
To read a weather vane, you check the point of the arrow (or equivalent indicator) against the compass points. A weather vane always points in the direction the wind is blowing from. Likewise, winds are identified by the direction they blow from. For instance, the arrow on the horse weather vane pictured below is pointing towards the W (west) indicating a westerly wind. The wind is blowing from the west to the east.
This reading of the weather vane makes more sense when you consider “The direction a wind is blowing from indicates the kind of weather it might bring. In the United States, for instance, winds from the north bring cold weather, while in Europe, westerly winds bring warm, wet weather.” explains author John Farndon in his book Weather: Science Experiments.
The 1851 version of the Old Farmer’s Almanac provides this verse:
“Wind from the east — bad for man and beast;
Wind from the south is too hot for them both;
Wind from the north is of very little worth;
Wind from the west is the softest and the best.”
This charming, moon-themed weather vane indicates “wind from the south” which, according to the verse, is too hot for man and beast.
In addition to knowing the direction of the wind, it’s helpful to know its strength. A weather vane can’t indicate the wind’s strength but the well-known Beaufort Wind Force Scale can. The Beaufort scale, as explained by Encyclopedia Britannica, “was devised in 1805 by Commander… Francis Beaufort of the British navy for observing and classifying wind force at sea. Originally based on the effect of the wind on a full-rigged man-of-war”. Wikipedia elaborates “The initial scale of 13 classes (zero to 12) … [ranged] from ‘just sufficient to give steerage’ to ‘that which no canvas sails could withstand’.”
In 1874, the original Beaufort scale was “altered to include observations of the state of the sea and phenomena on land as criteria… [and] it was adopted… by the International Meteorological Committee for international use”.
Interestingly, “wind vanes”, another term for weather vanes, are specifically called out in the Beaufort Scale. At Beaufort force 1, for instance, the land conditions are described as “Direction shown by smoke drift but not by wind vanes” whereas the description for Beaufort force 2 includes “Wind vane moved by wind”.
I’ll wrap up this study of weather vanes with a few of my favorite examples.
Eagles are a popular choice for weather vanes, especially in the United States. This eagle weather vane was spotted at the Norman Rockwell Studio in Stockbridge Massachusetts.
Most of the weather vanes I’ve seen have a very traditional style. This delightfully, contemporary weather vane, from the Pullen Park Carousel in Raleigh North Carolina, is an exception.
The adorable pig on this weather vane is perfect for the Children’s Garden at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine.
More Info
Check out the following resources for more information about weather vanes:
. Weather Vanes: The History, Design, and Manufacture of an American Folk Art by Charles Klamkin which is available here on Internet Archive.
. Weather: Science Experiments by John Farndon which is available here on Internet Archive.
. Weather Vane entry in Wikipedia
To learn more about the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, see:
. Beaufort Scale entry in Encyclopedia Britannica
. Beaufort Scale entry in Wikipedia
Today’s Takeaways
1. Weather vanes have been used for over 2000 years to determine the direction of the wind.
2. A weather vane always points in the direction the wind is blowing from.
3. The Beaufort Wind Force Scale is used to observe and classify the strength of the wind.
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