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Berg
A hot dry wind in South Africa that blows from the interior.
Bora
The Bora forms in a similar way to the Mistral and blows across the northern Adriatic. It starts when cold air collects over Yugoslavia, mainly during the winter, and spills over the high mountain passes. This north-easterly wind can reach speeds of 100mph causing extensive damage and disruption to the water traffic in Venice.
Brickfielder
A very hot north-east wind in south-east Australia, that blows during the summer months and carrys dust and sand.
Buran
A strong north-easterly wind that affects parts of the Soviet Union and central Asia. In winter it is often the harbinger of blizzards.
Chinook
A lee wind that blows to the east of the Rockies in the United States. It takes its name from a local Indian tribe and means snow eater. As it is warm and dry it often spells the end of the winter's snow.
Etesian / Meltemi
A northerly wind that blows through the central and eastern Mediterranean during the summer. With high pressure over Hungary and low pressure over Turkey, this strong wind brings very welcome cooler weather down across Greece and Turkey, giving some relief from the normal fierce heat. This refreshing summer wind is known as the Etesian by the Greeks and the Meltemi by those in Turkey.
Föhn
Another dry, warm lee wind. It is the name of the wind that blows in the European Alps, but is now used as a generic term for any similar lee wind. It gains its warmth from the air being compressed as it descends down the lee slope of a mountain and historically has been blamed for symptoms such as headaches, depression and even suicide among people living in its path.
Gregale
A strong wind mainly associated with the cool season in the south and central Mediterranean that blows from the northeast.
Habob
A sandstorm wind in northern Sudan and is most common in the afternoon or evening. From the Arabic Haab, meaning to blow.
Harmattan
A dry, cool wind from the north-east or east in north-west Africa. Although it carries dust, on occasions sufficient to cause thick hazes, its welcome coolness has earned it the nickname 'doctor' in its tropical home.
Helm
An English wind, strong, gusty and cold, that blows from the north east onto the western slopes of the Crossfell range in Cumbria. Particularly common in late winter and spring, it leaves a thick bank of cloud around the range, called 'the helm'.
Horses latitudes
Belts of light and variable winds in the subtropics at about 35° latitude; so-called because in these becalmed spots, sailors used to have to throw their horses overboard that were dying from thirst.
Khamsin
A hot, dry southerly wind that blows from the interior of Africa over Egypt and into the eastern Mediterranean. It is a dust laden wind which devastates crops and is feared by the locals. It is common in late spring and early summer.
Levanter
An easterly wind in the Straits of Gibraltar. Strong and common in the summer.
Leveche
A dry and hot southerly wind in south-east Spain that heralds an advancing depression.
Libeccio
A gusty south westerly wind in the Mediterranean. It is most common in winter.
Marin
As the Sirocco (see below) moves across the sea it picks up a lot of moisture. It can blow into the south coast of France as a strong warm and wet wind called the Marin.
Mistral
The Mistral usually develops as a cold front moving down across France, piling up the air in the Alps, before spilling over the top and rushing down the Rhône valley between the Alps and Cevenes. It can reach speeds of up to 93mph towards the French Riviera and the Gulf of Lyon. Marseilles and St.Tropez often take the full brunt of this cold, strong wind as it finally reaches the sea. It usually brings dry, but colder and sunnier weather and is likely to cause heavy seas, making it a surfer's paradise.
Pampero
A very cold south westerly wind from the Andes that sweeps across the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. It is often accompanied by storms and a severe drop in temperature.
Reshabar
A very gusty, strong wind, that blows north easterly in southern Kurdistan. It is dry and warm in summer, but cold in winter.
Seistan
A very strong summer wind from the north in eastern Iran, known as the 'wind of 120 days' as it lasts about four months. It can reach hurricane force and carries dust.
Shamal
Another summer wind, a north-westerly, blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf. It normally decreases at night, and is hot and dry. It is known to whip up the sand and reduce the visibility to a few 100 metres.
Simoon
A short-lived wind in the Arabic deserts, hot and oppressive, often causing the body to overheat because one cannot perspire quickly enough. It can appear as a whirlwind carrying dust.
Sirocco (or Scirocco)
As a depression moves into the central Mediterranean a strong southerly wind can develop ahead of it near North Africa, which can be very hot and dry and carry dust. If the conditions are right these winds move across the Mediterranean pick up moisture from the sea and by the time they reach Europe they bring warm, humid air and low cloud.
Southerly Buster
A name given by Australians to sudden changes of wind in the south and south-east of the country. The wind change is normally north-westerly to southerly and comes with a sudden drop in temperature.
Tramontana
A dry cool northerly wind in the Mediterranean.
Vendavales
In late autumn through the winter, as Atlantic depressions enter the western side of the Mediterranean, strong south-westerly winds blow in the straits of Gibraltar. This wind is known as the Vendavales and is associated with very squally weather with thunderstorms.
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