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Weather

Degrees on a Compass

Since a circle has 360 degrees, a compass has 360 degrees, too with North at 0 degrees.
The cardinal points divide the circle into 4 equal parts.


360 divided by 4 = 90, so the cardinal points are 90 degrees apart. Therefore:

North=0
East=90
South=180
West=270

The intercardinal points mark the midway point between the cardinal points.


90 divided by 2 = 45
Therefore:

NE = 45
SE = 135
SW = 225
NW = 315

Note that the cardinal points are also 90 degrees apart, because there are four of them.

The secondary intercardinal points mark the midway points between the cardinal points and intercardinal points.

The cardinal and intercardinal points are separated by 45 degrees.
45 divided by 2 = 22.5
Therefore:

NNE = 22.5
ENE = 67.5
ESE = 112.5
SSE = 157.5
SSW = 202.5
WSW = 247.5
WNW = 292.5
NNW = 337.5

Note that the secondary intercardinal points are 45 degrees apart because there are 8 of them.

You could of course work out that each point is separated by 22.5 degrees, and just work your way round the points adding 22.5 degrees to each.

Abbreviated
Compass
Direction		 Compass Direction Exact Equivalent
In Degrees
N North 360
NNE North North East 22.5
NE North East 45
ENE East North East 67.5
E East 90
ESE East South East 112.5
SE South East 135
SSE South South East 157.5
S South 180
SSW South South West 202.5
SW South West 225
WSW West South West 247.5
W West 270
WNW West North West 292.5
NW North West 315
NNW North North West 337.5