Few people in Europe have not heard of the mistral, a very dry offshore wind blowing along Mediterranean coasts and on occasions a very violent cold wind affecting parts of southern France.
The word monsoon is now used to describe the extraordinary rainfall which hits parts of Asia, but in fact is the name for highly seasonal winds which blow in one direction for part of the year and the opposite direction for the remainder of the year. The word monsoon itself comes from the Arabic word for 'season'.
Here are some other named winds around the world:
Berg
A hot dry wind in South Africa coming from the interior.
Brickfielder
A very hot north-east wind in south-east Australia, blowing during the summer months and carrying dusts and sand.
Buran
A strong north-easterly affecting parts of the Soviet Union and central Asia, in winter often the harbinger of blizzards.
Chinook
A lee wind blowing to the east of the Rockies in the United States. It takes its name from a local Indian tribe and is warm and dry, often spelling the end of the winter's snow.
Fohn
Another dry, warm lee wind. It is the name of the wind coming form 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, blowing from the northeast.
Habob
A sandstorm wind in northern Sudan, 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, blowing 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 with variable winds in the subtropics at about 35° latitude. So called because in these becalmed spots, sailors used to have to throw overboard their horses dying from thirst.
Khamsin
A hot, dry southerly wind blowing from the interior of Africa over Egypt. It frequently carries dust and 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 heralding an advancing depression.
Libeccio
A gusty south westerly wind in the Mediterranean, most common in winter.
Pampero
A very cold south westerly wind from the Andes sweeping across the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. Often accompanied by storms and a severe drop in temperature.
Reshabar
A very gusty, strong wind, blowing north easterly in southern Kurdistan. Dry and warm in summer, 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. Can reach hurricane force and carries dust.
Shamal
Another summer wind, a north-westerly, blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Normally decreases at night, and is hot and dry.
Simoon
A short-lived wind in the Arabic deserts, hot and oppressive, often causing the body to overheat because one cannot perspire quickly enough. Can appear as a whirlwind carrying dust.
Scirocco
Southerly winds in the Mediterranean, which near North Africa can be very hot and dry and carrying dust. It is moister when it reaches Europe, having picked up water from the Mediterranean.
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-west to south and comes with a sudden drop in temperature.
Tramontana
A dry cool northerly wind in the Mediterranean.
Vendavales
Strong, gusty south-westerly winds in the Gibraltar Straits which bring rain and stormy weather.
A different category of wind altogether is the jet stream. There are two main jet streams, one in each hemisphere, each one blowing from west to east. Jet streams blow at an altitude of around 10.5 kilometres (35,000 feet) which is at the tropopause - the boundary between the troposphere in which we live and the stratosphere above.
They can travel at speeds of up to 480km/h (300mph) and although narrow - just a few hundred miles wide - can stretch half way around the globe in length.
Although the jet streams are very high they have an enormous impact on our weather. In the Northern Hemisphere the jet stream has a massive effect on the formation of high and low pressure zones and thus greatly influences our weather.
Other features in the Weather Basics series:
- World winds
