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Winds
Local
Mediterranean Winds
Levanter:
An easterly wind through the Straits of Gibraltar and between Spain and
Morocco. It is usually a light or moderate wind bringing with it excessive
moisture, heavy dew, local cloud, and thick muggy atmosphere and sometimes
rain. It may occur at any time of the year, but is most frequent from
July to October and in March and seldom blows with gale force.
Vendavales:
The vendavales are strong south-westerly winds which occur in the Strait
of Gibraltar and the region off the east coast of Spain. They are associated
with advancing depressions of late autumn to early spring; they are usually
introduced by, and are liable to be interspersed with, thunderstorms and
violent squalls.
Leveche:
This is a dry, scorching, sand- and dust-laden wind from between south-east
and south-west, peculiar to the south-east coast of Spain between Almeria
and Valencia; it extends only a few miles inland, and occurs in front
of an advancing depression.
Levantades:
Gales from between north-north-east and east-north-east are the most important
gales of the east coast of Spain. They are known locally as llevantades,
and are an intense form of the llevante or levante, i.e., north-easterly
winds of long fetch, as opposed to diurnal coastal breezes. These gales
are most frequent and dangerous in spring and autumn (February to May
and October to December), and are generally associated with slow-moving
depressions crossing the Mediterranean between France and Algeria.
Mistral:
A strong northerly wind in the Gulf of Lions and Rhone Valley. The air
is usually dry, bringing bright and clear weather with freezing temperatures
to the south of France. The Mistral often reaches gale force especially
in winter and is capable of raising a heavy sea in a short space of time.
Bora:
Occurs along the eastern shore of the Northern Adriatic and is similar
in some respects to the Mistral. It is a NE wind occurring chiefly in
winter, when it may attain gale force. Violent gusts and squalls, sometimes
reaching 100 knots, occur on the eastern side of the Adriatic constituting
a danger to shipping, especially as they often set in with little or no
warning.
Scirocco:
A southerly wind moving eastwards in the Mediterranean, in advance of
a low pressure system. It often extends to the Adriatic where it may reach
gale force, often accompanied by heavy rain. The local Libyan name for
this wind is Ghibli (or Chibli).
Gregale:
A strong NE wind of the central and west Mediterranean areas, occurring
chiefly during the cold seasons. It may blow continuously up to five days,
but usually lasts one or two days, bringing fine or showery weather with
some hail.
Fohn:
A warm dry wind experienced to leeward of high mountain ridges, such as
the Northern Alps and the Andes. Moisture-laden winds are forced to ascend
the slopes, thus becoming saturated and undergoing a reduction of temperature
at the SALR of about 3°F per 1000 feet. Cloud is formed and heavy
precipitation occurs on the windward side. The wind then descends on the
leeward side and undergoes an increase of temperature at the DALR of about
5^ ° F. per feet. It blows, therefore, as a warm and very dry wind.
On the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies the same type of wind is known
as the Chinook.
Marin:
This is a strong wind in the Gulf of Lions blowing from a south-easterly
direction, and is next in frequency and importance to the mistral in this
region. It is generally warm, moist and cloudy, with rain and thick weather,
and is associated with depressions which enter the Gulf of Lions from
the west or south-west after traversing southern France and northern Spain.
Libeccio:
The libeccio is the westerly or south-westerly wind which predominates
in northern Corsica all the year round; it frequently raises high seas
and may give violent westerly squalls. In summer it is most persistent,
but in winter it alternates with the tramontana (north-east or north).
Tramontana:
This is a local name for a north-easterly or northerly wind which in winter
is prominent on the west coast of Italy and fairly prevalent off the north
of Corsica. It is a fresh wind of the fine-weather mistral type, and does
not often reach gale force. It is associated with a depression over the
Adriatic simultaneously with an anticyclone further west.
Maestro:
The maestro is the name given to a north-westerly wind which blows in
summer in the Adriatic when pressure is low over the Balkan peninsula.
It is a fresh breeze accompanied by fine weather and light clouds.
Meltemi
(Etesians): During the summer in the Aegean Sea, the prevailing
winds of the main circulation are due chiefly to the deep continental
depression centered over the north-west of India. These winds are known
as meltemi by the Turks and etesians by the Greeks. They blow from a direction
which may be anywhere between north-east and north-west according to the
character of the country surrounding the region concerned; meltemi weather
is ordinarily fine and clear, the northerly winds tempering the fierce
summer heat of the region.
Khamsin:
This name is generally understood to apply to dry, dusty and mostly hot
southerly winds in Egypt, and the Red Sea, similar to the dry sirocco
further west. The khamsin is not limited to any single wind direction,
but is associated, rather, with the dryness, the heat and the dust-laden
atmosphere. Khamsin winds blow in front of depressions moving eastward
over the Mediterranean or through northern Africa, and the name is frequently
applied both to the depressions themselves and to the characteristic weather
which accompanies them. They are most frequent in the spring, from February
to June.
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