Levantades
Encyclopedia
Gales from between north-north-east and east-north-east are the most important gale
s of the east coast of Spain
. They are known locally as llevantades (in Catalan
) and are an intense form of the llevante or levanter
, 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
.
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
s of the east coast of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. They are known locally as llevantades (in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
) and are an intense form of the llevante or levanter
Levanter
Levanter may refer to*A Levanter, or Levantine is a person who was born in the Levant, especially one of mixed European-Levantine ancestry*Viento de Levante, a wind that blows in the western Mediterranean Sea*The Levanter, a novel by Eric Ambler...
, 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
Low pressure area
A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...
crossing the Mediterranean between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
See also
- Bora (wind)Bora (wind)Bora or Bura is a northern to north-eastern katabatic wind in the Adriatic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, and Turkey....
- EtesianEtesianThe etesians ', sometimes found in the Latin form etesiae), meltemi μελτέμι , or meltem are the strong, dry north windsof the Aegean Sea, which blow from about mid-May to mid-September...
- GregaleGregaleThe Gregale is a Mediterranean wind that can occur during times when a low pressure area moves through the area to the south of Malta and causes a strong, cool, northeasterly wind to affect the island...
- Khamaseen
- LevecheLevecheLebeche is the Spanish name for a warm southwest wind in parts of coastal Mediterranean Spain, either a foehn wind or a hot southerly wind in advance of a low pressure area moving from the Sahara Desert...
- LibeccioLibeccioThe libeccio is the westerly or south-westerly wind which predominates in northern Corsica all 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 Tramontane...
- Marin (wind)Marin (wind)The Marin is a warm, moist wind in the Gulf of Lion of France, blowing from the southeast or south-southeast onto the coast of Languedoc and Roussillon. It brings rain to this region which it has picked up crossing the Mediterranean, and also can bring coastal fog...
- Mistral (wind)Mistral (wind)The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind in France, coming from the north or northwest, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhone and the Durance Rivers to the coast of the Mediterranean around the Camargue region. It affects the northeast of the plain...
- SiroccoSiroccoSirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe. It is known in North Africa by the Arabic word qibli or ghibli Sirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind...