Windsock

Windsock

Windsock in Germany
Classification	Meteorological instrument
Uses	Indicates wind direction and estimates its speed.
Related	Anemometer, weather vane, anemoscope

A windsock (a wind cone or wind sleeve) is a conical textile tube that resembles a giant sock. It can be used as a basic indicator of wind speed and direction, or as decoration. Windsocks are typically used at airports to show the direction and strength of the wind to pilots, and at chemical plants where there is risk of gaseous leakage. They are also sometimes located alongside highways at windy locations.

At many airports, windsocks are externally or internally lit at night.^[1] Wind direction is the direction in which the windsock is pointing. (Wind directions are conventionally specified as the compass point from which the wind originates, so a windsock pointing due north indicates a southerly wind.) Wind speed is indicated by the windsock's angle relative to the mounting pole—in low winds it droops; in high winds, it flies horizontally.