If the weather forecast says North East wind then it means wind is coming FROM the North East.
Just a little added info about that. Wind direction is most constant over flat ground. Also, the general wind direction is at heights up to 50,000 ft. When wind hits mountains it can change because of resistance of the land. That's why WV is so tough for wind, there are so many hollers that can change direction of wind.
Think of wind as a stream of water. You have water running downstream in one direction. Now, if water hits a big rock in the stream(and think of a mountain as that rock) then the water can't go thru the rock and is pushed to the side as much as 90 degrees and this is what forms eddys in streams, even causing water to flow backwards in relation to the rest of the main flow. This is what happens to wind in mountains. This is the "swirling wind" that we all as hunters hate. This is why the wind direction can switch every 5 minutes.
The VAST majority of time deer(bucks and does) will travel INTO the wind. A deer's nose is its most valuable defense against predators. If it travels into wind the air is bringing scent to it so it can pick up anything dangerous. The older a deer is the better they are able to fine tune and take full advantage of the wind.
With that said, nothing is 100%. If they always travel into the wind all the deer would all end up in the same place.
So , instead of saying they always travel into the wind it's probably more accurate to say they "USE" the wind when they travel.
It's important to know what the difference between upwind and downwind is.
I'll use a scrape as an example. Say the wind is blowing from the west to the east. Any thing to the west of the scrape is upwind, and anything to east of scrape is downwind . When a buck is scent checking a scrape he will always do it from downwind side. He has to because wind is blowing across scrape taking the scent to him. If he were upwind, there would be no scent because the wind hasn't crossed the scrape yet .
I hope that helps answer your question and didn't bore you. I did an all day sit yesterday and my back and ankle was so sore I couldn't make it out this am and I'm bored. LOL