A study of Weibull parameters using long-term wind observations

The two parameters of a Weibull density distribution function were calculated for three different locations; a city area, an extremely exposed area in a city centre and an open sea area in Hong Kong. A long-term data source, consisting of thirty years (1968-1997) of hourly mean wind data, was adopted and analysed. Based on these data, it was found that the numerical values of the shape and scale parameters for these weather stations varied over a wide range. The shape parameter varied from 1.63 to 2.03 and the scale parameter ranged from 2.76 to 8.92. The yearly Weibull probability density function distribution for the city area indicated that the wind data could be grouped into two distinct periods, 1968-1951 and 1982-1997. Seasonal Weibull distribution for the three locations were compared and wider distributions were observed in the more open areas. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.