Apart from the recent fad of naming Atlantic storms, I’m unaware that we Brits name specific winds that blow across our islands. In the Mediterranean, however, specific winds have been named since ancient times. We are now experiencing one of those first hand; the Tramontane. And it is going to blow hard for about 5 days, so even if Missy Bear was ready, we might be staying in the ‘Bar du Port’.
If you are not a weather nerd, you can probably stop reading now.
Alix and experienced the fringes of our first named Mediterranean wind – the Meltemi - when we skippered the Greek Sails flotilla in 2004 based in Poros. In July and August, a strong northerly wind (generally F6 and F7) blows down the Aegean Sea. It occurs when there is a high pressure system over Italy (air rotating clockwise) and a low pressure system over Turkey (air rotating anticlockwise). At their convergence, these two weather systems drag a northerly airflow down between them, which happens to be right over the Aegean. It’s not really the time or place to be if you are a novice skipper.
There is some wind-naming inconsistency between countries (and across the websites you might reference). For example, we always knew the Greek wind as the Meltemi, as did the locals. But it is often referred to online as the Etesian, with the Meltemi being shown over the Turkish mainland.
A Tramontane (in Italy, the Tramontana) is the generic ancient name for a northerly wind, and literally means ‘from beyond the mountains’. I understand that ancient mariners were able to orientate themselves by these winds, before the invention of the compass.
In France, the Tramontane, and its more easterly neighbour the Mistral, generally blow when there is a high pressure system in the north eastern Atlantic, known as the Azores High. In simplistic terms, the air along the eastern edge of this clockwise-rotating system is dragged southwards across France towards the Pyrenees, where it is deflected south-eastwards. It funnels between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, and then accelerates across the Mediterranean Sea. Right now, at Portel-des-Corbieres, we are experiencing gusts of about 50 knots!
If the Azores High moves further east, consequently the southerly air stream flows eastwards of the Massif Central. It is then funnelled by the Alps onto the Mediterranean near mouth if the Rhone. This wind is the famous Mistral.
The Tramontane is strong and unrelenting, blowing and howling all day and night, and rattling the shutters. The locals are used to it, but to the uninitiated it can drive you mad.