Sea · West Flanders · Belgium
Heist
Best for kiting in October, with 57 % kite days. Water 15 °C. Also windy, but cold (water and air under 12 °C or short days): November to April.
A kite day has at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 knots (gusts up to 45) between 10:00 and 19:00, in daylight. Percentages are the share of such days in each month, counted over 9 years.
- Prime 60 % and more
- Good 40 to 59 %
- Possible 20 to 39 %
- Off under 20 %
- No data hatched
- Ringed: this month
Prime also needs a good month in at least 7 of the 9 years, so one freak year cannot make a month Prime. A month with 60 %+ but fewer good years shows as Good.
Confidence highHourly model data, 2017 to 2025, checked against the season shape of a nearby weather station, a regional model or a documented season. Shares its model grid cell with 3 nearby spots, so the numbers describe the area, not one beach.
Month by month
- Kite days
- 57 % Goodabout 18 of 31 days
- Too light, kiteable, too strong
- Too light 43 %
- Kiteable 57 %
- Too strong 0 %
- Good years
- 6 of 9 years reached 50 % kite days
- 10 day trip
- 8 in 10 trips got at least 5 kite days, about 5.6 expected
- Best hours
- 10:00 to 18:00when the wind is most often 12 to 35 knots
- Daylight
- 10.7 h
- Water
- 15 °C, 5/4
- Air
- 15 °Cdaily maximum, 14 °C during kite hours
- Rain
- 16 of 31with 1 mm or more
- In one sentence
In October, Heist averaged 18 kite days out of 31 (57 %). Water 15 °C, 5/4. 8 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in October got at least 5 kite days.
| Kite days% of days | 56 | 58 | 51 | 50 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 48 | 46 | 57 | 52 | 59 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdictshare plus good years | cold | cold | cold | cold | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | cold | cold |
| 10 day tripof 10 trips, 5+ kite days | 7 in 10 | 6 in 10 | 6 in 10 | 6 in 10 | 6 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 6 in 10 | 8 in 10 | 7 in 10 | 7 in 10 |
| Good yearsof 9, reached 50 % | 6 of 9 | 6 of 9 | 4 of 9 | 4 of 9 | 5 of 9 | 3 of 9 | 2 of 9 | 4 of 9 | 5 of 9 | 6 of 9 | 4 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
| Best hourshour of day, most often 12 to 35 kn | 10 to 16 | 10 to 17 | 10 to 18 | 13 to 19 | 14 to 19 | 15 to 19 | 10 to 19 | 11 to 19 | 10 to 19 | 10 to 18 | 10 to 16 | 10 to 16 |
| Daylighth | 8.4 | 10.0 | 11.9 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.7 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.0 |
| Water°C at the surface | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Air°C, daily maximum | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain days1 mm or more | 15 of 31 | 11 of 28 | 12 of 31 | 10 of 30 | 10 of 31 | 10 of 30 | 13 of 31 | 13 of 31 | 13 of 30 | 16 of 31 | 17 of 30 | 16 of 31 |
| Wetsuitfor that water and the air on kite days, + boots and gloves | 6/5+ | 6/5+ | 6/5+ | 6/5+ | 5/4 | 4/3 | 4/3 | 3/2 | 4/3 | 5/4 | 6/5+ | 6/5+ |
- In January, Heist averaged 17 kite days out of 31 (56 %). Water 6 °C, 6/5 with boots and gloves. 7 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in January got at least 5 kite days.
- In February, Heist averaged 16 kite days out of 28 (58 %). Water 7 °C, 6/5 with boots and gloves. 6 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in February got at least 5 kite days.
- In March, Heist averaged 16 kite days out of 31 (51 %). Water 8 °C, 6/5 with boots and gloves. 6 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in March got at least 5 kite days.
- In April, Heist averaged 15 kite days out of 30 (50 %). Water 11 °C, 6/5 with boots and gloves. 6 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in April got at least 5 kite days.
- In May, Heist averaged 15 kite days out of 31 (48 %). Water 14 °C, 5/4. 6 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in May got at least 5 kite days.
- In June, Heist averaged 14 kite days out of 30 (47 %). Water 18 °C, 4/3. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in June got at least 5 kite days.
- In July, Heist averaged 14 kite days out of 31 (46 %). Water 20 °C, 4/3. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in July got at least 5 kite days.
- In August, Heist averaged 15 kite days out of 31 (48 %). Water 21 °C, 3/2. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in August got at least 5 kite days.
- In September, Heist averaged 14 kite days out of 30 (46 %). Water 19 °C, 4/3. 6 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in September got at least 5 kite days.
- In October, Heist averaged 18 kite days out of 31 (57 %). Water 15 °C, 5/4. 8 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in October got at least 5 kite days.
- In November, Heist averaged 16 kite days out of 30 (52 %). Water 11 °C, 6/5 with boots and gloves. 7 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in November got at least 5 kite days.
- In December, Heist averaged 18 kite days out of 31 (59 %). Water 8 °C, 6/5 with boots and gloves. 7 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in December got at least 5 kite days.
Good year: at least half the days of that month were kite days. x in 10 reads: of all 10 day trips that started in that month between 2017 and 2025, x in 10 got at least 5 kite days. We cap the figure at 9 in 10 because wind is never a promise. Best hours: the hours from 10:00 on when the wind most often reaches 12 to 35 knots. Rain day: 1 mm or more of rain.
Source: ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly model wind, 2017 to 2025; water temperature 2023 to 2025. How we count kite days and trip odds
Trip odds at Heist
How often a trip of your length got at least half its days with kite wind, 2017 to 2025, capped at 9 in 10.
- January7 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.4 expected
- February6 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.6 expected
- March6 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.3 expected
- April6 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.8 expected
- May6 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.0 expected
- June5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.7 expected
- July5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.4 expected
- August5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.6 expected
- September6 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.1 expected
- October (now)8 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.6 expected
- November7 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.3 expected
- December7 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 6.1 expected
x in 10 reads: of all 10 day trips that started in that month between 2017 and 2025, x in 10 got at least 5 kite days. We cap the figure at 9 in 10 because wind is never a promise.
Trip odds by start week
Pick your start week and trip length. Each cell: of all trips of that length that started in that week between 2017 and 2025, how many in 10 got at least half their days with kite wind.
Trip odds by start week, 10 day trips, 2017 to 2025
- 8
- 7
- 5
- 8
- 7
- 5
- 8
- 7
- 4
- 8
- 6
- 5
- 7
- 5
- 4
- 7
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 5
- 7
- 8
- 5
- 3
- 6
- 7
- 5
- 5
- 3
- 5
- 6
- 5
- 6
- 6
- 4
- 5
- 7
- 7
- 7
- 8
- 6
- 8
- 9
- 7
- 7
- 7
- 6
- 8
- 7
- 7
- 7
- 8
Colours as in the kite year: 6 in 10 and more like Prime · 4 to 5 in 10 like Good · 2 to 3 in 10 like Possible · under 2 in 10 like Off · No data hatched (fewer than 30 trips) · Ringed: this week · Raised: your start week
x in 10 reads: of all 10 day trips that started in that week between 2017 and 2025, x in 10 got at least 5 kite days. We cap the figure at 9 in 10 because wind is never a promise.
Source: hourly wind from the ECMWF IFS model via Open-Meteo, 2017 to 2025, kiteCOMPASS method v1. How we count
7 in 10
trips of 10 days starting in week 45 (e.g. 5 to 11 November) got at least 5 kite days in 2017 to 2025 (63 trips).
Zero wind trips: fewer than 1 in 20
about 5.2 kite days expected out of 10
Kite days per trip, 63 trips
Bars right of the line are good trips (5 kite days or more).
How the wind behaves
In December, the windiest month
- Too light 41 %
- Kiteable 59 %
- Too strong 0 %
Too light on 41 %, kiteable on 59 %, too strong on 0 % of days.
Best hours: 10:00 to 16:00, when the wind is most often 12 to 35 knots.
Share of kite days by wind direction, 16 sectors
Wind mostly from WSW (248°), fairly steady direction.
Kitesurfing at Heist: quick answers
When is the best time to kitesurf at Heist?
The best month is October: from 2017 to 2025, 57 % of its days were kite days.
Is Heist windy in October?
Yes, often. 57 % of days in October were kite days from 2017 to 2025, about 18 days in a typical October. 8 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in October got at least 5 kite days, 2017 to 2025.
What is the water temperature at Heist?
The water ranges from 6 °C in January to 21 °C in August. In October it is about 15 °C (wetsuit: 5/4).
How many kite days does Heist get in a year?
About 188 days a year were kite days from 2017 to 2025, out of 365. A kite day has at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 kn model wind between 10:00 and 19:00 in daylight, with gusts up to 45 kn.
Live forecast
The numbers above are long term averages. The forecast shows the next days.
Live forecast from Windy
The forecast map for Heist comes from windy.com (Windyty SE, Prague, Czech Republic) and opens right here on this page. Once you load it, your browser contacts Windy, which receives your IP address and may set its own cookies. Nothing is loaded before you click.
Spot facts
- Region
- West Flanders
- Country
- Belgium
- Water body
- Sea, from Natural Earth map data
- Nearest airport
- Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), 30 km straight line. Flights are not sold here; this is for planning only.
- Time zone
- UTC+02:00 in October
- Coordinates
- 51.3428, 3.2326
- Model
- ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly
Conditions, checked against kite guides
Water state, flat areas, waves and whether schools teach here, from kite sources, not from satellite images.
Not yet checked against kite guides. We research spot conditions one by one and show only what a kite source says.
Nearby kite spots in West Flanders
Kite days in October, % of days
- De Haan
Belgium · 8 points more kite days than Heist in October
65 %Kite days by month at De Haan: Jan 64 %, Feb 66 %, Mar 58 %, Apr 56 %, May 55 %, Jun 55 %, Jul 50 %, Aug 55 %, Sep 57 %, Oct 65 %, Nov 60 %, Dec 66 % - Bredene
Belgium · 5 points more kite days than Heist in October
62 %Kite days by month at Bredene: Jan 62 %, Feb 65 %, Mar 57 %, Apr 52 %, May 51 %, Jun 53 %, Jul 47 %, Aug 53 %, Sep 53 %, Oct 62 %, Nov 57 %, Dec 65 % - Spuikom
Belgium · 10 points fewer kite days than Heist in October
47 %Kite days by month at Spuikom: Jan 44 %, Feb 51 %, Mar 44 %, Apr 39 %, May 33 %, Jun 36 %, Jul 34 %, Aug 37 %, Sep 34 %, Oct 47 %, Nov 44 %, Dec 49 % - Westende
Belgium · 1 point more kite days than Heist in October
58 %Kite days by month at Westende: Jan 59 %, Feb 61 %, Mar 52 %, Apr 50 %, May 48 %, Jun 51 %, Jul 42 %, Aug 50 %, Sep 48 %, Oct 58 %, Nov 54 %, Dec 61 % - De Panne
Belgium · 4 points more kite days than Heist in October
61 %Kite days by month at De Panne: Jan 62 %, Feb 63 %, Mar 54 %, Apr 53 %, May 51 %, Jun 52 %, Jul 46 %, Aug 52 %, Sep 51 %, Oct 61 %, Nov 55 %, Dec 63 %
Plan your trip
Booking reminder
Remind me when to book Heist
One mail, about 8 weeks before your month starts, with the kite day odds for that month and the link to this page. No newsletter.
We send one confirmation mail first; the reminder is set only after you click its link, and unconfirmed addresses are deleted after 7 days. Every mail has an unsubscribe link and a delete link. Privacy
kiteCOMPASS Pro
Plan the whole trip, not just the month
Save trips, get Plan B spots for days without wind and compare three places side by side. 29 EUR per year.
kiteCOMPASS · method k3h-10to19-v1 · 2017 to 2025
Model wind: ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly, 2017 to 2025. Water temperature: 2023 to 2025. Kite day: at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 kn model wind between 10:00 and 19:00 in daylight, with gusts up to 45 kn. Shares its model grid cell with 3 nearby spots, so the numbers describe the area, not one beach. Confidence: high.
Cite this
In October, 57 % of days at Heist met the kiteCOMPASS kite day rule: at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 kn model wind between 10:00 and 19:00 in daylight, with gusts up to 45 kn (ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly, 2017 to 2025). https://kitecompass.app/spot/heist
Numbers on this page are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: name kiteCOMPASS and link to this page.