The Fremantle Doctor, the Freo Doctor, or simply The Doctor, is the

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

term for the cooling afternoon

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...

that occurs during summer months in

south west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

coastal areas of Western Australia. The sea breeze occurs because of the major temperature difference between the land and sea. The name was in use as early as the 1870s and was similar to equivalent terms for winds that occurred in South Africa and the West Indies.

General trend

During summer months, the Fremantle Doctor consistently blows from the southwest along the southern half of the west coast, starting between 10 am and 3 pm. It can penetrate as far inland as , reaching

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the early evening. In

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, the capital city of Western Australia, the wind is named the Fremantle Doctor because it appears to come from the nearby coastal city of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, and it brings welcome relief from the summertime high temperatures. The Fremantle Doctor often cools the Perth suburbs by several degrees, whilst nearer the coast the wind can be quite strong, often blowing between . On days when the wind fails, the afternoon temperatures of Perth suburbs are considerably higher, often exceeding , although this is also attributable to the influence of a strong easterly wind blowing in hot desert air from the arid interior of the state. It was known to have an impact on

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

games being played at the

WACA Ground The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association. The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...

, particularly helping fast and medium swing bowlers by making it hard for a batsman to play at the ball, while also providing a cooling breeze to the players on the field.

Further analysis

The Fremantle Doctor is strongest in December and January, when the temperature differential between the land and ocean is greatest. In February and March the breeze is not as strong, because the ocean is a bit warmer. Though October and November are not as warm, the ocean is cooler, resulting in the sea breeze in these months. Other months have a weak or non-existent Fremantle Doctor. In the winter months, the land is usually cooler than the ocean, and this sometimes results in the weaker land breeze in the early morning. When the Fremantle Doctor first arrives it is from the west-south-west direction. Later when it is at maximum strength, the direction is usually from the southwest or south-south-west. By the early evening, the direction is from the south. This change in wind direction is due to the

Coriolis effect In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial or fictitious force that acts on objects in motion within a frame of reference that rotates with respect to an inertial frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the force acts to the ...

. Other factors, like the prevailing wind of a particular day, can also have an effect on the direction. A

wind rose A wind rose is a graphic tool used by meteorologists to give a succinct view of how wind speed and direction are typically distributed at a particular location. Historically, wind roses were predecessors of the compass rose (found on charts), as ...

showing the different wind directions for Perth can be found at the Bureau of Meteorology's website.Wind roses for selected locations in Australia
Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 30 January 2010.

Notes

External links

Introduction to winds on the west coast of Western Australia

Fremantle Perth, Western Australia Winds Coastline of Western Australia Climate of Australia

General trend

Further analysis

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links