Molde Wind Roses

Presented in a circular format, the modern wind rose shows the frequency of winds blowing from particular directions over a specified period. The length of each "spoke" around the circle is related to the frequency with which the wind blows from a particular direction per unit time. Each concentric circle represents a different frequency, emanating from zero at the center to increasing frequencies at the outer circles. A wind rose plot may contain additional information, in that each spoke is broken down into color-coded bands that show wind speed ranges. Wind roses typically use 16 cardinal directions, such as north (N), NNE, NE, etc., although the following monthly wind roses use only eight - N (0°), NE (45°), E (90°), SE (135°), S (180°), SW (225°), W (270°) and NW (325°).

A wind rose can quickly indicate the dominant wind directions and the direction of strongest wind speeds and the following annual plot and 12 monthly wind roses for Molde indicate:

See below (i) Molde wind rose (annual plot - August 2011 to January 2017), and (ii) Molde monthly wind roses.

"The Norse Settlement of North Scotland in its Geographical Setting" (1934-6) Andrew C. Odell Saga Book of the Viking Society Vol. XI at pages 256 to 259

… The first Norse immigrants to Scotland, as has been shown by the work of the Faroese philologist Jakobsen, were peasant immigrants of the eighth century from Agder and Rogaland. That they came from the Möre and Agder districts of S.W. Norway is shown by the distribution of "setr" and "land" place names in that part of Norway - which root is common in the north of Scotland.

These peasant immigrants were succeeded, at the period of consolidation in power of Harold the Fairhaired, by a set of adventurers. The Shetland Islands have been proved by Brøgger to have been later settled than most southerly regions by the Norse. The peasants married with the aborigines, it was not as so often imagined an extermination settlement, but one of peaceful penetration, and probably in time they brought the thrall women from Norway, who were also dark, and this perpetuated the dark strain in the Shetland Islands.

To reach the north of Scotland the Norse had nearly three hundred miles to sail across the North Sea, in the main against prevailing winds. The shortest distance is from Bergen to Caithness and this may account for the focusing of Norse penetration on that point of the seaboard, apart from its nodal character for passing down the west or eastern seaboards.

The third diagram shows the prevailing winds for May and September. The upper figure for May shows that, when the crops were sown, there is a marked north and easterly component for the average winds which, making the assumption that they have not appreciably changed since Norse times, would allow a more easy seasonal passage to the west.

The Norse landed on the seaboard, and if they were on a marauding expedition failed to have any deep influence on the settlement, but even if they came as settlers it is noteworthy that they failed to go far into the interior. A study of the place names of a parish as that of Farr in Sutherland shows that the Norse did not settle a great distance inland, and the clean cut line between the two types of names in Strath Naver shows that it was a peaceful occupation of the land. The settlement seems to have been discontinuous, based as it was on a command of the sea.

… To conclude, the Norse settlement of the north of Scotland took place when the Viking ships were able to navigate the northern waters, and the peoples who crossed left an impression on the place names of the region which still persists to the present …

Derivation of the Surname RAMSDALE

Part 3: Danish or Norwegian Origin
Molde Wind Roses

Old Norse Place-Name Evidence in and around the coastal fringe of North Yorkshire

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Part 1 Index: Etymological & Teutonic Sources

Part 2 Index: Locative Sources

Part 3 Index: Danish or Norwegian Origin

Part 4 Index: General

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