Observe the four arms on a wind vane. The arms are marked in the directions of north, east, south and west.
The pointer on the wind vane points at which direction the wind is coming from. The pointer may be pointed or slightly rounded while the rear end has a fin or a flat vertical surface to catch the wind and turn the wind vane.
If the directions are not readable on a wind vane, you can hold a compass with the arrow pointing in the same direction as the wind vane pointer to determine the wind direction.
If you do not have a compass and cannot read the wind direction, hold an analog watch with the face up and horizontal to the ground. Turn the watch so that the sun is in between both watch hands. The direction of the 6 o’clock position on your watch face is north.