Leonardo da Vinci sketched an anemometer to measure wind direction and strength.
Leonardo’s design is associated with his studies of flight and atmospheric movement. It used a light, hinged indicator that could respond to moving air, allowing an observer to judge the wind’s direction and approximate force. Understanding wind was essential to his investigations of birds, gliders and other flying machines.
An anemometer is the general name for an instrument that measures wind speed, although early designs often combined speed observation with a separate indication of direction. Leonardo’s version was not the cup anemometer commonly seen at weather stations today.
Leonardo did not invent modern meteorology, and his sketch did not provide the electronic measurements used by contemporary instruments. Its importance is that it applied mechanical observation to a problem central to Renaissance studies of flight and weather.