Names for Wind

There are a number of instances where unusual local topography and atmospheric conditions yield particular, recurring regional wind patterns, which have been given special names.   Some examples, along with several wind-related terms, as well as some more general terms for various winds (many of which have been taken from Allen, 1983, pp. 67-87, or Bendick, 1964, pp. 31, 44-56), include:

Aeolus

regent of the winds in Greek mythology; see Boreas, Eurus, Notus, and Zephyr

air

can be classified as:  light (see Beaufort Number 1 on the Beaufort Scale)

anticyclone

air spinning outward from centers of high air pressure; flowing clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

Aquilo

the Latin version of Boreas

Auster

the Latin version of Notus

blizzard

 

blustery

 

bora

a cold wind that blows from the north or northeast across the lands around the Adriatic Sea (named after Boreas)

Boreas

the "North Wind" in Greek mythology

breath

 

breeze

also see lake breeze, land breeze, and sea breeze; can be classified as:  light, gentle, moderate, fresh, or strong (see Beaufort Numbers 2 through 6 on the Beaufort Scale)

buster

a sudden, violent, and cold wind that blows from the south across Australia (alternatively refered to in parts of Australia as a "southerly burster" or a "brickfielder")

calm

(see Beaufort Number 0 on the Beaufort Scale)

CAT

Clear Air Turbulence

chinook

a foehn, originating with moist wind from the Pacific Ocean, that releases its moisture as precipitation over the Rocky Mountains, the air is then compressed and heated as it descends over the frozen plains of the northwestern United States and Canada, often removing several inches of snow by sublimation in a matter of hours, thus leading some people to refer to them as "snow eaters"

[Sometimes, the wet southwest winds that blow along the coasts of Oregon and Washington are also referred to as chinooks because of their warmth.]

cyclone

air spinning in toward centers of low air pressure; flowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

doldrums

a narrow, virtually windless zone (which moves slightly north or south with the seasons) that occurs near the Equator as heated air rises upward, leaving the ocean surface calm and glassy

downdraft

 

dust devil

 

elephanta

the violent windstorms that occur at the beginning and the end of the monsoon season in India

Eurus

the "East Wind" in Greek mythology (the same term is used in Latin)

Favonius

the Latin version of Zephyr

foehn

any warm, dry wind that blows down the leeward side of a mountain range; particularly the hot, dry winds that move down from snow-clad mountains to roar through Alpine valleys, typically in autumn and late winter

friagem

like a North American norther, but blowing northward from the South Pole in South America

gale

can be classified as:  moderate, near, fresh, strong, or whole (see Beaufort Numbers 7 through 10 on the Beaufort Scale)

gust

 

haboob

a squall of billowing dust that blows across the Syrian desert when a monsoon collides with dry air currents above it

Hadley cell

named after George Hadley, a London lawyer, who in 1735 presented a paper on the origin of the trade winds to the Royal Society of London; see section 33321233 for a more detailed description of this convective pattern

harmattan

a very hot wind, with dangerous cross-currents, that blows southwest from central Africa and across the Sudan, typically December through February, preceded by the smokes (i.e., clouds of stinging, red dust)

helm wind

a wind that blows down the slopes of smaller, smoother hills (as opposed to a foehn); common in the British Isles

horse latitudes

a dry high-pressure zone in the North Atlantic

hurricane

(see Beaufort Number 12 on the Beaufort Scale)

khamsin

a hot, dry wind that blows from the Sahara Desert to Egypt for about fifty days each spring; called "rih al khamsin" (the wind of fifty days) by Egyptians

jet stream

bands of rapidly moving air, normally 290 to 480 kilometers (180 to 300 miles) wide and up to three kilometers thick, that travel above the earth at altitudes of 9000 to 13,600 meters (30,000 to 45,000 feet) and at speeds that average between 100 and 180 kilometers (60 and 115 miles) per hour, but which have been recorded exceeding 460 kilometers per hour

lake breeze

like a sea breeze, but occurring near a large lake

land breeze

also see section 33321231

levanter

blows through the Straits of Gibraltar, funneled through the gap between the high plateau of Spain and the Atlas Mountains of North Africa

Mariah

it's what they call the wind (a way out here where they have names for the wind, and the rain, and fire)     :-)

mistral

a penetrating, stormy, dry and cold wind that blows through the Rhone Valley of France toward the Mediterranean coast

monsoon

any seasonal wind that blows toward a continent in summer and away from it in winter; perhaps the most famous of which occur in India

northeaster, nor'easter

a strong wind blowing across New England from the northeast, typically bringing gales and wet weather

"Northeasters" can also blow across the Great Lakes

norther

a winter wind that sweeps across the southern Uniteds States and then out over the Gulf of Mexico; it can start in Canada and eventually cover the entire Mississippi Valley

Notus

the "South Wind" in Greek mythology

polar night jets

an intermittent form of jet stream that occurs above the earth's poles during the dark winter months

prevailing westerlies

prevailing winds that blow from the west and occur between 30 and 60 degrees from the Equator.

puelche

an easterly foehn blowing off the Andes of South America

reverse jet stream

an intermittent, east-to-west flowing form of jet stream that forms during the summer at the tropopause over the Indian Ocean and Africa

roaring forties

the name applied, especially by sailors, to the latitudes between 40 degrees S and 50 degees S, where the prevailing westerly winds are strong and steady.   Unlike the winds in the Northern Hemisphere, those in the roaring forties are not impeded by large land areas.   (Quoted from:   http://www.infoplease.com/ce5/CE044311.html.)

Santa Ana

a hot wind that emerges from the sun-baked Great Basin between the Sierras and the Rocky Mountains and pours into the Los Angeles basin of California; gusting to over 100 kilometers per hour, it can desiccate so much vegetation that it sets the stage for frequent brush fires

sea breeze

also see section 33321231

second wind

 

simoom

the searing "poison wind" of Arabia, which roars across the parched desert

sirocco

the blistering winds of the Sahara, which can blow dust, grit, and sand all the way from northern Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe

solar wind

 

squall

a sudden storm of wind, typically accompanied by rain or snow or sleet

storm

(see Beaufort Numbers 10 and 11 on the Beaufort Scale)

tebbad

the "fever wind" of Turkestan

thermal

a rising parcel of warm air

tornado

 

trade winds

the northeasterlies, which girdle the Northern Hemisphere near the Equator (and the southeasterlies that do the same south of the Equator), provided earlier mariners with reliable winds to travel from Europe or Africa to the Americas; they derived their name from an archaic word meaning "course" or "track"

tropical cyclone

the name for a hurricane that occurs in the Indian Ocean

twister

 

typhoon

the name for a hurricane that occurs in the Pacific Ocean

updraft

 

vortex

 

williwaw

violent gusts of cold air that blow off the mountainous coasts into the oceans, as occurs in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and the Straits of Magellan near the south end of South America

willy-willy

the name for a hurricane that occurs in the seas north of Australia

wind chill

 

Zephyr

the "West Wind" in Greek mythology

zonda

a westerly foehn blowing off the Andes of South America and across the pampas of Argentina

Additional information regarding wind and names for various winds can be found on the following web pages:

• "World Winds" from The Weather Notebook (4/16/97)
• "What Makes Wind" from the National Weather Service
• "The North Wind Doth Blow" from Keith's Weather Almanac
• "Breezy Sories" from the Tucson Weekly (11/9/95-11/15/95)
• "Whirling Winds of the World" by Mike Ryding