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Seneca Lake

Kite days stay under 30 % in every month.

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.

  1. J19
  2. F21
  3. M27
  4. A25
  5. M11
  6. J8
  7. J3
  8. A4
  9. S4
  10. O10
  11. N22
  12. D17
Kite days by month at Seneca Lake: Jan 19 %, Feb 21 %, Mar 27 %, Apr 25 %, May 11 %, Jun 8 %, Jul 3 %, Aug 4 %, Sep 4 %, Oct 10 %, Nov 22 %, Dec 17 %
  • 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 lowLake or river spot: global weather models underestimate local thermal winds here.

Month by month

MonthKite days% of days, verdictGood yearsof 0, reached 50 %
  • Kite days
    10 % Offabout 3 of 31 days
    Too light, kiteable, too strong
    • Too light 90 %
    • Kiteable 10 %
    • Too strong 0 %
    Best hours
    11:00 to 14:00when the wind is most often 12 to 35 knots
    Daylight
    11.1 h
    Air
    17 °Cdaily maximum, 15 °C during kite hours
    Rain
    13 of 31with 1 mm or more
    In one sentence

    In October, Seneca Lake averaged 3 kite days out of 31 (10 %).

Good years are not shown here: this spot has no complete per year values, because the two models drift apart over the years. Trip odds are hidden here: at low confidence the model does not see this spot's wind well enough to count on. 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 Seneca Lake

Trip odds are hidden here: at low confidence the model does not see this spot's wind well enough to count on.

How the wind behaves

In March, the windiest month

  • Too light 73 %
  • Kiteable 27 %
  • Too strong 0 %

Too light on 73 %, kiteable on 27 %, too strong on 0 % of days.

Best hours: 11:00 to 16:00, when the wind is most often 12 to 35 knots.

NESW

Share of kite days by wind direction, 16 sectors

Wind mostly from WNW (293°), fairly steady direction.

Kitesurfing at Seneca Lake: quick answers

When is the best time to kitesurf at Seneca Lake?

No month reaches 50 % kite days. The windiest month is March, when 27 % of days were kite days from 2017 to 2025.

Is Seneca Lake windy in October?

Rarely. 10 % of days in October were kite days from 2017 to 2025, about 3 days in a typical October.

How many kite days does Seneca Lake get in a year?

About 51 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 Seneca Lake 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
New York
Country
United States
Water body
Lake, from Natural Earth map data
Nearest airport
Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport (ITH), 58 km straight line. Flights are not sold here; this is for planning only.
Time zone
UTC-04:00 in October
Coordinates
42.8727, -76.9457
Model
ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly
Satellite view of Seneca Lake

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 New York

Kite days in October, % of days

  1. Hobart Beach

    United States · 27 points more kite days than Seneca Lake in October

    37 %
    January: 43 % kite days (Good)February: 36 % kite days (Possible)March: 47 % kite days (Good)April: 45 % kite days (Good)May: 30 % kite days (Possible)June: 23 % kite days (Possible)July: 18 % kite days (Off)August: 18 % kite days (Off)September: 27 % kite days (Possible)October: 37 % kite days (Possible)November: 40 % kite days (Good)December: 38 % kite days (Possible)
    Kite days by month at Hobart Beach: Jan 43 %, Feb 36 %, Mar 47 %, Apr 45 %, May 30 %, Jun 23 %, Jul 18 %, Aug 18 %, Sep 27 %, Oct 37 %, Nov 40 %, Dec 38 %
  2. Long Beach

    United States · 34 points more kite days than Seneca Lake in October

    44 %
    January: 52 % kite days (Good)February: 42 % kite days (Good)March: 56 % kite days (Good)April: 54 % kite days (Good)May: 39 % kite days (Possible)June: 43 % kite days (Good)July: 29 % kite days (Possible)August: 35 % kite days (Possible)September: 35 % kite days (Possible)October: 44 % kite days (Good)November: 48 % kite days (Good)December: 46 % kite days (Good)
    Kite days by month at Long Beach: Jan 52 %, Feb 42 %, Mar 56 %, Apr 54 %, May 39 %, Jun 43 %, Jul 29 %, Aug 35 %, Sep 35 %, Oct 44 %, Nov 48 %, Dec 46 %
  3. Montauk Point

    United States · 53 points more kite days than Seneca Lake in October

    63 %
    January: 68 % kite days (Prime)February: 68 % kite days (Prime)March: 73 % kite days (Prime)April: 75 % kite days (Prime)May: 63 % kite days (Prime)June: 66 % kite days (Prime)July: 55 % kite days (Good)August: 50 % kite days (Good)September: 57 % kite days (Good)October: 63 % kite days (Prime)November: 74 % kite days (Prime)December: 68 % kite days (Prime)
    Kite days by month at Montauk Point: Jan 68 %, Feb 68 %, Mar 73 %, Apr 75 %, May 63 %, Jun 66 %, Jul 55 %, Aug 50 %, Sep 57 %, Oct 63 %, Nov 74 %, Dec 68 %

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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. Confidence: low.

Cite this

In October, 10 % of days at Seneca Lake 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/seneca-lake

Numbers on this page are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: name kiteCOMPASS and link to this page.