WINDS

Gregale
It’s a cold and strong wind characteristic of the cold season. It can be generated from the presence of an anticyclonic air placed on the North-east of Europe and a cyclonic one on the Mediterranean. In other cases it can be generated from an expansion of the Russian anticyclone. Often this wind is associated with bora winds.

Levanter
It’s a wind that, as tell the name, blows from East and it’s typically summer.
Along the Tyrrhenian regions, it shows itself during the firsts hours of the morning because of the breeze that orients the wind in this direction. It’s influence is felt on Tyrrhenian and on central-south Adriatic. Sometimes the levanter can announce a storm arrival.

Libeccio
The libeccio is a humid wind, with many gusts and very violent that comes from South West. It’s very feared because of the effects that it can provoke, in fact often it generates rough seas, storm conditions and very intense rains. It can form from the clash between a cold front coming from a depression placed in the middle of Europe and warm and humid air coming from and anticyclonic zone placed more to the south. These conditions determine a marked instability to the air mass, favouring the above-mentioned effects. It’s important know that it can happen also during the summer period.

Mistral
It’s one of the most intense winds that concern Italy. The conditions in which it can verify are different but all come from the descendant of cold air of polar origin that descend toward the low latitudes. The polar air, along its descendant meet with warmer and humid air coming from the Atlantic Ocean, producing bad weather especially in the French regions. The winds acquire speed when they clash and wedge themselves on the relieves between France and Spain (Pirenei) and then head toward Italy. Because of the clash with the Alps they keep or exalt more their speed, and avoiding it then from West head on the peninsula to South East direction. Even if along the way they have lost many of the precipitations quantity, during the passage on the Mediterranean they recover part of the lost humidity that then will discharged along the peninsula with also very strong rains and rough wind from North West.

Auster
It’s a weak south wind that have an action scarcely felt in the Italian sea.

West wind
It’s a typical summer wind and it comes from West. In the warmest period began along the littorals local breeze winds due to the thermal difference between land and sea that are weak and in clockwise rotation during the 24 hours. Along the Tyrrhenian regions, during the afternoon hours, the sea breeze orients the wind in this direction bringing nice fresh air from the sea. Its influence is felt on the Tyrrhenian and on the centre-south Adriatic.

Sirocco
It’s a warm and dry wind coming from South East/S “from the African continent”. Its tendencies sometimes are of the warm humid type, it’s due to the fact that to arrive to Sicily it has to cross the sea. It can be produced from a depression zone placed on the north Africa giving so the possibility that the winds blew from South East toward Italy. It’s a very feared wind in the summer season because it makes the days very hot and sultry.

North wind
It’s a very cold wind that usually brings dry weather, clear sky and good visibility. Its physical characteristics are due to the origin and transit places, in fact, it comes from regions to low latitudes so colder than ours and it doesn’t cross seas remaining with very low humidity rates that favour the visibility.