One dominant characteristic of the climate is the strong winds that are observed throughout the province. Summers tend to be windier than winters. Winds coming from the west, southwest and northwest are common, occurring 50% of the time (60% if calm winds are not included). There is some tendency for the winds to come from the east, particularly on the coastal regions when sea breezes from the east can occur when westerly winds are weak, which can be felt up to from the coast. The mean wind speed throughout the province varies with the northern parts having the lowest wind speeds while the highest altitude areas being the windiest. Except for the northern parts of the province, mean annual wind speeds exceed .