Pasaia Ocean-meteorological station
The Pasaia ocean-meteorological (OM) station was the first to be installed in 2001 as a pilot experience in what is now the ocean-meteorological network of the Basque Country. The Pasaia OM station is located at the mouth of the bay of Pasaia, on the rocky shallows known as the Bancha del Este, using a beacon post at the entrance to the port as a support.
Meteorologically it is a very interesting location as the rugged terrain of the coast and nearby valleys combined with a narrow, cliff-fringed harbour mouth means that the breezes (produced by the difference in temperature between the surface of the sea and the land during the day/night cycle) are particularly frequent and intense, and not only in summer.
Bilbao Ocean-Meteorological Station
The Bilbao ocean-meteorological station (OM) is located between the end of the Punta Lucero dock and the signalling box of the Punta Galea submerged dock, on the outer part of the Bilbao Abra. This station was the second to come into operation within the OM network of the Basque Country in 2003. The Bilbao station is representative of the marine and atmospheric conditions of the western Basque coast.
From the atmospheric point of view, a very differentiated seasonal pattern can be observed at the Bilbao station. In autumn and winter, south and south-easterly winds predominate (with strong wind intensities due to the topographical effect of the Nervión basin), while in spring and summer, northerly winds predominate.
