The NOAA Angel’s Gate wind monitoring station is the long-term wind monitoring site closest to the project site. The station is located at the south-east corner of the end portion of Pier 400 approximately 2900 feet from the project site as shown in the figure below. The elevation of the wind gage is 40 feet above mean sea level. NOAA started wind measurements at the station in May 2001 and is continuing at the present time.

Wind data records from May 2001 to May 2008 at the Angel’s Gate station were analyzed to determine the return periods for varying levels of the maximum 5-second gust wind speed. The results are summarized in the table below. The results are based on monthly maximum winds regardless of wind direction. Therefore they are representative of the maximum wind conditions (including Santa Ana conditions featuring strong easterly gusts) that can be expected to occur in the area of Angel’s Gate, including the project site.

The distribution of wind speed and direction was also analyzed for the wind data converted to average wind speed over 30 seconds. The 30-second wind speed is commonly used for assessing forces on moored vessels as it is more representative of the time required for the wind to force a vessel to move. The data are summarized in the figure below which illustrates the percentage of time the wind is from a given direction and wind speed. The results indicate the predominant wind direction to be from the southwest occurring approximately 32% of the time. Calm wind defined as less than 5 knots occurs 32.16% of the time. The typical maximum wind speeds that can be detected in the wind rose are between 20 and 25 knots from all directions with higher frequency of occurrence of this wind speed range in the directions other than southwest.

The maximum observed 30-second wind speed in each direction is summarized in the following table.