Turbulent Winds in the Faroe Islands

Broadcaster’s concerns over strong wind speeds

The Faroe Islands is a spectacular group of 18 islands which are situated between Iceland and Norway, in the North Atlantic Ocean. The islands are known for their beautiful valleys, steep coastal cliffs and grassy heathland. Making it a popular destination for hikers and bird-watchers as long as the weather permits.

For the people on Faroe Islands, an in-depth understanding of the complex weather system here is crucial to their daily lives as they face the challenge of the island being very wet and windy. Fierce wind gusts often blast their way in off the sea and across these remote, picturesque islands.

A sub-polar oceanic climate means that it is often wet, windy and cold in this incredibly scenic part of the North Atlantic. The Gulf Stream helps to keep the average temperature higher than you might think but conditions here are known for their hugely unpredictable nature, with abrupt changes at any time of year.

To get the most accurate wind readings possible, Kringvarp Føroya, a Faroese company has taken the right steps towards understanding the wind here using a WINDCRANE monitoring system.

Who is Kringvarp Føroya?

With a history dating back to 1957, this company is the national TV broadcaster in the Faroe Islands.

Before either of these services were established, locals had no regional weather forecasts to listen to. Therefore, they had to listen to foreign broadcasters such as the National Norwegian Radio Station, to get an idea of what to expect. The Faroese typically also turned to the BBC World Service for weather forecasts.

The situation was made easier for everyone in 1957 when the national radio station, Útvarp Føroya, was officially launched. With local information now just the turn of a dial away, it is easy to imagine the difference that this made to the lives of the islanders.

Wind Monitoring with WINDCRANE

The WINDCRANE wind monitoring system is providing Kringvarp Føroya management with live accurate data that will help them to make key decisions over their installation and also gauge the level of wind turbulence affecting their current dish set up.

Given the strong winds that this area is subjected to, they need to be completely sure that this new installation is sturdy enough to stand up to the harshest conditions that the North Atlantic can throw at it.

Although some data is available from local weather stations several miles away, the need for actual wind speed data recorded on the roof of this building is extremely important when planning for suitable mountings /fixings and general safety of personnel.

The below picture shows an example of the WINDCRANE wind speed report over a 24 hour period.

As well as this, the anemometers are robust enough to ensure that there is nothing to fear from even the most blustery of days.

The notoriously powerful winds in the Faroe Islands aren’t enough to stop WINDCRANE from gathering the data needed for this project.

With over 10 years experience measuring wind,  there is every reason to trust our wind speed monitoring devices to handle whatever other extreme conditions you need to measure.

“This is a vital system for the Telecoms industry. It has really helped us understand the potential wind damage to our satellite equipment.” Kringvarp Føroya