Lodos
Encyclopedia
The lodos is the strong south-westerly wind which predominates the Aegean Sea
and Marmara Sea as well as the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey
all the year round; it frequently raises high seas and may give violent westerly squalls. The word lodos is Turkish
, coming from Greek
word "Notus
", and originally means "southern wind".
The predominant surface current of the Aegean Sea is from northwest to southeast, but about twenty times a year the wind shifts, pushing from the Mediterranean towards the Black Sea. If it continues long enough, the surface current also reverses, creating treacherous going for mariners. When Lodos is blowing, the winds in the Turkish Straits
begin to shift during the early morning hours. The Black Sea’s currents are also affected by Lodos.
They are at their strongest in the afternoon and often die down at night, but sometimes lodos winds last for days without a break. Similar winds blow in the Adriatic and Ionian regions. Lodos winds are dangerous to sailors because they come up in clear weather without warning and can blow at 9-10 Beaufort. Most vessels cannot sail under such conditions.
Lodos brings wind and waves from the south from October to April with December being the peak season. Along with warm waters from the South, lodos also brings African dust from the Sahara Desert which contains many minerals such as sulfate, iron, zinc and other minerals that are beneficial to all living beings. If lodos persists for more than a day, these mineral rich dusts cause headaches, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases.
During strong lodos winds, especially in December, large vessels are warned against crossing the Bosphorus Strait and at times, the strait is closed to all naval traffic due to lodos shifting charted surface currents. Vessels are most vulnerable to these shifting currents if they lack speed or experience an engine failure in which case the only means to halt a vessels would be anchoring, but there is not enough distance at Bosphorus for such a measure and disaster becomes inevitable.
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and Marmara Sea as well as the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
all the year round; it frequently raises high seas and may give violent westerly squalls. The word lodos is Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, coming from Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
word "Notus
Notus
Notus may refer to:*Notus - the south wind in Greek mythology .*Notus, Idaho - a town in the United States....
", and originally means "southern wind".
The predominant surface current of the Aegean Sea is from northwest to southeast, but about twenty times a year the wind shifts, pushing from the Mediterranean towards the Black Sea. If it continues long enough, the surface current also reverses, creating treacherous going for mariners. When Lodos is blowing, the winds in the Turkish Straits
Turkish Straits
The term Turkish Straits refers to the two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, that connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. They are conventionally considered the boundary between the...
begin to shift during the early morning hours. The Black Sea’s currents are also affected by Lodos.
They are at their strongest in the afternoon and often die down at night, but sometimes lodos winds last for days without a break. Similar winds blow in the Adriatic and Ionian regions. Lodos winds are dangerous to sailors because they come up in clear weather without warning and can blow at 9-10 Beaufort. Most vessels cannot sail under such conditions.
Lodos brings wind and waves from the south from October to April with December being the peak season. Along with warm waters from the South, lodos also brings African dust from the Sahara Desert which contains many minerals such as sulfate, iron, zinc and other minerals that are beneficial to all living beings. If lodos persists for more than a day, these mineral rich dusts cause headaches, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases.
During strong lodos winds, especially in December, large vessels are warned against crossing the Bosphorus Strait and at times, the strait is closed to all naval traffic due to lodos shifting charted surface currents. Vessels are most vulnerable to these shifting currents if they lack speed or experience an engine failure in which case the only means to halt a vessels would be anchoring, but there is not enough distance at Bosphorus for such a measure and disaster becomes inevitable.
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
- LevantadesLevantadesGales 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 levanter, i.e., north-easterly winds of long fetch, as opposed to diurnal coastal breezes...
- 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...
- 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...