Admin Table of Contents
- 1 What is the difference between the mistral and sirocco winds?
- 2 What is the French mistral?
- 3 What does the name sirocco mean?
- 4 How bad is the mistral?
- 5 What is Sirocco called in Spain?
- 6 Where is sirocco located?
- 7 Where does the mistral wind come from and why?
- 8 Why is the Mistral so important to Provence?
What is the difference between the mistral and sirocco winds?
the Mistral, a cold dry north or northwest wind, which blows down through the Rhone Valley to the Mediterranean, and can reach speeds of ninety kilometers an hour. the Sirocco, a southeast wind coming from the Sahara desert in Africa, can reach hurricane force, and brings either reddish dust or heavy rains.
What is the French mistral?
mistral, Italian maestrale, cold and dry strong wind in southern France that blows down from the north along the lower Rhône River valley toward the Mediterranean Sea.
Why is it called the mistral?
The name mistral comes from the Languedoc dialect of the Occitan and means “masterly”. The same wind is called mistrau in the Provençal variant of Occitan, mestral in Catalan, maestrale in Italian and Corsican, maistràle or bentu maestru in Sardinian, and majjistral in Maltese.
What does the name sirocco mean?
as a name for girls (also used as boys’ name Sirocco). The name Sirocco means “warm wind”. Sirocco is a version of Scirocco (Italian, Arabic).
How bad is the mistral?
A Mistral event can last for a couple of days and up to a week and the funneled, strong winds can be felt several hundred nautical miles offshore. It generates mean winds often exceeding 35 knots, but sometimes reaching hurricane force.
How strong is the mistral?
The word “mistral” comes from the old Occitan dialect meaning “masterly”. It certainly is. It’s most strong during the change in seasons during winter and spring, often reaching speeds of over 40 mph (65 km/h). It’s been known to get as high as 115 mph (180.1 km/h).
What is Sirocco called in Spain?
As the air travels northward across the Mediterranean Sea, the Sirocco picks up much moisture because of its high temperature, and reaches Spain (known as Leveche, Solano, Jaloque or Xaloque), Portugal as Xaroco, France as Marin, Malta, Sicily, southern Italy as Scirocco, Croatia as Jugo and even Greece as a very …
Where is sirocco located?
Sirocco, warm, humid wind occurring over the northern Mediterranean Sea and southern Europe, where it blows from the south or southeast and brings uncomfortably humid air. The sirocco is produced on the east sides of low-pressure centres that travel eastward over the southern Mediterranean.
Where does the name Sirocco come from for a hurricane?
Sirocco ( / sɪˈrɒkoʊ / ), scirocco, jugo or, rarely, siroc (see other Names below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Sirocco is derived from the Arabic word sharqiyya ( شرقية) which means ‘easterly’.
Where does the mistral wind come from and why?
The mistral (Catalan: Mestral, Greek: Μαΐστρος, Italian: Maestrale, Maltese: Majjistral, Corsican: Maestral) is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of Lion in the northern Mediterranean.
Why is the Mistral so important to Provence?
The mistral helps explain the unusually sunny climate (2700 to 2900 hours of sunshine a year) and clarity of the air of Provence. When other parts of France have clouds and storms, Provence is rarely affected for long, since the mistral quickly clears the sky.
What kind of rain does the Sirocco get?
The sirocco’s duration may be as short as half a day or may last several days. While passing over the Mediterranean Sea, the sirocco picks up moisture; this results in rainfall in the southern part of Italy, known locally as “blood rain” due to the red sand mixed with the falling rain.