Methodology: how we compute kiteable days
How KiteTempo computes kiteable days per month: 25+ years of ERA5 data, offshore grid points, wind thresholds, and thermal spot calibration.
What counts as a kiteable day
A day counts as kiteable when it has at least 3 consecutive hours of sustained wind at or above 12 knots at our offshore measurement point, within daytime hours (8am to 5pm, local spot time). Sustained reanalysis wind is conservative: 12 knots in the data usually means 15 to 18 knots felt on the water, with gusts and local effects. We also compute days above 15 and 18 knots as a strong-day reference; your rider level filters which spots show up in search, but does not change the percentage bar.
Where the data comes from
We use more than 25 years of hourly data (from 2000 to the present) from the ERA5 reanalysis, served by the open Open-Meteo API. Reanalysis combines real observations (satellites, stations, buoys) with weather models to reconstruct hourly wind anywhere on the planet. It is not a forecast: it is history.
Why we measure wind offshore, not at the beach
The model grid cell covering the beach mixes land and sea, which smooths the wind and underestimates what a kiter feels on the water. We validated this spot by spot: at Cumbuco, the beach point averaged 14 knots in September while a point about 20 km offshore gave 19 knots, which matches what the water actually delivers. That is why every KiteTempo statistic uses an offshore point chosen per spot.
Thermal spots and calibration
Some spots depend on phenomena smaller than the model grid: the afternoon thermal in Cabarete or the Levante funnel in Tarifa, for example. In those cases ERA5 underestimates even at the offshore point. Until we finish manually calibrating those spots against local stations, we do not publish absolute numbers for them; the spot page shows the season guidance in text and flags the data as being calibrated.
What this is not
History helps you compare seasons and pick when to travel. It does not guarantee wind on your week: years vary, and short-term forecasting is a job for other tools. Use KiteTempo to decide when and where to go; use a forecast app in the week of your trip.