The winds of Spain: Tramontana, Levante and Poniente

Wind. People do not usually like it very much, but it is essential for plants to spread, for ships to navigate, and for meteorological phenomena as impressive as tornadoes or hurricanes to form. Today it is also used as power source, so its importance has only increased.

Spain is a country that has a very marked orography. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, which is why many types of wind are distinguished. The best known are the Levante, the Tramontana and the Poniente. Sure you've ever heard of them, but Do we know what their characteristics are and how they affect us?

What is wind and how is it produced?

Before getting into the subject, it is important to know what wind is and how it is produced. Well the wind is but one air current that occurs in the atmosphere due to the rotation and translation of the planet.

To this must be added that solar radiation is not the same throughout the globe, so pressure differences are generated that cause the hot air, which has a tendency to rise, to displace the air masses generating wind. Depending on its intensity, it will speak of breezes, hurricanes or tornadoes.

The most advanced tool with which you can measure wind speed is the anemometer, which also helps us predict the weather.

In Spain there are 3 types of winds that are the best known. Let's see the characteristics of each of them.

Levante Wind

This is a wind that is born in the central Mediterranean but that reaches its highest speed (100km / h) when crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. It is responsible for the fact that the Andalusian Atlantic coast has a rather dry climate, and that on the east face of the Rock of Gibraltar the rainfall is significant.

It occurs in any month of the year, but is most common between May and October. Due to its intensity, it is very common that ships cannot leave the ports of Tangier, Algeciras and Ceuta, since the Strait of Gibraltar is a kind of natural funnel that opposes the passage of the wind. Thus, the Levante increase your speed making navigation impossible.

If we talk about temperatures, they are reasonably high, especially during the summer months when they register between 35 and 42ºC in many parts of Andalusia, such as Huelva or Cádiz. And it is that when the Levante crosses all of eastern Andalusia, loses moisture and overheats when reaching the west, causing the ambient humidity to rise.

Tramontana wind

This is a wind that 'I know personally'. Its name comes from Latin, which means beyond the mountains. It takes place in the northeast of the peninsula, between the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. It is a cold wind coming from the north that increases its speed in the southwest of the French central Massif and in the Pyrenees. It can reach streaks of up to 200 kilometers per hour.

In Mallorca we have the Sierra de Tramontana (Tramontan in Majorcan), which is a mountain range located between the north and southwest of the island. In Croatia, specifically on the island of Cres, the northernmost part of the island is known as 'tramontana'.

The weather is a bit colder than the rest, so the flora and fauna is very different. A clear example is that in many points of the Sierra de Tramuntana, where the wind blows with much more force, we can find the only variety of maple that lives in the Balearic Islands: the Acer opalus 'Garnatense'. This tree only lives in temperate climates, with frosts down to -4ºC. The only place in the archipelago where such low temperatures are recorded is precisely in the Sierra.

A peculiarity of this wind is that, when it blows, the sky is usually an intense blue color very pretty.

West wind

The Poniente comes from the west and takes place in the center of the peninsula. Drive the Atlantic storms towards the peninsula. It is a cold and wet wind that usually leaves precipitation. Two types are distinguished: the western Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

Mediterranean west

This is a wind that increases the temperature and lowers the humidity during the summer, and causes the mercury in the thermometer to drop during the winter. Thus, Murcia has the highest temperature in the country: neither more nor less than 47'2ºC The 4 June 1994.

Atlantic west

This is a very wet wind that blows cold from the Atlantic Ocean. It does not usually blow more than 50km / h and temperatures do not exceed 30ºC during the central hours of summer days.

As you can see, each type of wind has its own characteristics. Did you know them?