| Miscellaneous
Winds
General Information
There are many stories on the origin of wind names, one of these refers
to times when the island of Krf/Corfu' was an important commercial
centre and some winds took the names from the lands they were blowing to
that island.
Thus we have inherited the alternative term grecale
for the bora, that in Krf was called so because it was blowing from the
direction of Greece, and libeccio from Lybia, and scirocco from Syria.
 Because
of the exposure to strong north easterly and southern winds, and the
frequency of summer storms in the Kvarner area, every tourist wonders
how to program his voyage and safe harbours in case of need. We
recommend the excellent nautical guides, based on the century
old experience of the Kvarner sailors.
The bura (bora) and
the
jugo-siroco (scirocco) are the main winds on the Adriatic. They
prevail in the winter period from September to May. The prevailing wind
in the summer is the
maestral.
The atmospheric conditions in the region of
Istria and the Kvarver demand of the nautical tourists a quick
adaptation to the impetuous changes of the conditions of navigation. The
main cause of such changes is the proximity of the mountain massif of
Gosrski Kotar, and of the high mountain Učka/Monte
Maggiore, whose sides plunge into the sea. Opposite
Učka, looking from
its 1500 metre high summit, at the end of the Kvarner Gulf one can see
the long massive range of the Velebit. These geographical features are
the main cause of the famous north easterly wind, the bora (bura).
Genoa lows
Genoa lows are low-pressure systems which
develop to the south of the Alps in the region incorporating the Gulf of
Genoa, Ligurian Sea, Po Valley, Gulf of Venice and northern Adriatic
Sea. Although several factors are important in cyclogenesis, the
development of the cyclone near the Gulf of Venice ‒ as opposed to the
west near the Gulf of Genoa ‒ depends on the amount of cold air
penetrating the Po Valley from the northeast. If there is little or no
cold air entering the Po Valley, the low will probably form in the Gulf
of Venice; otherwise, cyclogenesis will occur to the west. Genoa
cyclones usually remain stationary (or at least leave a residual trough)
south of the Alps throughout their life history. If the lows do move,
they generally follow one of two tracks.
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Common for cyclones
developing in the Gulf of Venice, this track is a northeasterly to
north-northeasterly direction across the Alps. This track is
associated with strong southwesterly flow aloft. In this case,
scirocco conditions are likely if the circulation of the low extends
southward into North Africa, allowing air from the desert source to
move northward.
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Associated with a strong
anticyclone over the Balkans, Turkey and the Black Sea, this track
is in a southeasterly direction from the Gulf of Genoa towards the
Ionian Sea. In this case, a gale force bora is extremely likely by
the time the depression moves into the Ionian Sea.
Secondary Winds
Burin - a
north-easterly, blows in the summer from the mainland to replace the
maestral. It is the night breeze from the north which cools the
overheated dry land. By early morning, an offshore a land breeze of
northeasterly flow develops and lasts until about 8 in the morning. It
brings good weather and is usually accompanied by white clouds.
Garbin - a
west wind and summertime phenomena that occurs for short periods in
Venice (up to six hours) with a maximum intensity of 35 knots. Note: the
term 'Garbin' is also used in Spain and France but denotes a sea
breeze.
Lebić
(libeccio) - is a southwesterly wind which blows mainly in spring,
can cause troubles at sea, but luckily it is not frequent. Summer days
are often refreshing thanks to "maestral" - a northwesterly wind.
The lebić often follows the
jugo in springtime as a violent southwesterly wind in most regions along
the Croatian coast. Wave action is somewhat heightened in Luka Gazenica
near Zadar when such winds occur along the north pier of the port, where
U. S. vessels tie up. Luka Zadar is completely protected from lebić wind
and sea state effects. The lebić occurs as a low pressure center moves
on a track across the northern Adriatic, north of Zadar. The changing
wind direction from SE to S to SW does produce choppy seas at the
anchorage locations in Zadarski Kanal, which can pose problems for small
boats arriving or departing the anchorage area.
The lebić also occurs during
October, usually following a jugo. The rapidly changing wind direction
in a lebić, from SE to S to SW, frequently causes confused, choppy, sea
state that can be dangerous for small boats attempting to load or
offload personnel at either of the anchorages in Zadarski Kanal.
Pulenat (Punenat) -
blows from the West.
Tramontana - a north/north-westerly wind and a type of bora.
Differing from the maestral, it blows at the end of the Gulf of Kvarver
(near Preluka).
The tramontana is sometimes violent and can raise sea height at the
entrance to Luka Zadar. One strong November
thunderstorm caused northerly tramontana winds of 108 kt (200 kph) at
Koper.
Tramontana squalls are usually associated with
cold frontal passage, preceded by a rise in relative humidity, and drop
in pressure. The duration of such events is quite brief, but care should
be exercised in dispensing small boats to the harbor when frontal
passage is anticipated.
This is the preferred
wind for surfers, hardly a day passing without this strong and cold
wind, the bearer of freshness from the mountains, reaching to the
northern shores of the islands of Krk and Cres.
Zmorac
is a day wind coming from the sea is not particularly important for the
area, but it's frequent and strong enough (between 3.00 and 4.00 p.m.)
to help endure the unpleasant summer heat. It also has some other
favourable physiological effects. At night there is sometimes a
refreshing wind coming from the nearby terraces.
Bibliography:
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ACI Club - Weatherhttps://www.euro-agent.com/marine/weather.htm
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Cruising Guide Publications - Adriatic Cruising Guide -
https://www.artnoir.com/adriatic/cruise.g.html
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Istria e costa Dalmata, Istituto Geografico DeAgostini (Novara,
1998)
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The Yugoslav Coast, Guide and Atlas, Jugoslavenski
Leksikografski Zavod (Zagreb, 1972)
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TZ Primorsko-goranske županije -
https://www.morsko-prase.hr/kvarner/kvarner0-i.htm
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POLYtech s.c.r.l. Area Science Park -
https://polytech3.area.trieste.it/trieste/bora.htm
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Naval Research Laboratory - Marine Meteorology Division, The Medex
Project - https://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/~medex/
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https://www.brela.hr/climate.htm
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Adriatic News and Information =
https://www.artnoir.com/adriatic/cruise.g.html
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Storms - https://www.morsko-prase.hr/kvarner/kvarner3-e.htm
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Grad Krk, Climate - https://www.grad-krk.hr/english/climate.html
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https://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/~cannon/medports/Koper/ihazcond.html
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https://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/~cannon/medports/Zadar/hc_sp.html
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