What causes meltemi winds?
Etesians Greece & Turkey. The Meltemi – μελτέμι was known by the old Greeks as the Etesian northerly winds, and results from a high pressure system (>1025) laying over the Balkan/Hungary area and a relatively low pressure (<1010) system over Turkey.
What are the winds called in Greece?
In a nutshell, the meltemi winds are strong, dry, seasonal winds that appear all over the Aegean. We call them meltemi or meltemia, which is the plural form of the word in Greek. Depending on where in Greece you are, they may come from the north, north-east or north-west.
What does Etesian mean?
Definition of Etesian : recurring annually —used of summer winds that blow over the Mediterranean.
Which sea is affected by the meltemi wind?
Aegean Sea
Meltemi, or otherwise Greek “etesian” (annual) wind, is the strong & dry North wind which occurs in the Aegean Sea/ Greece & many other regions around the Mediterranean Sea.
Is Greece always windy?
The air is usually hot during the day and pleasantly warm at night, but there are some very windy days, especially in the Cyclades islands and around them. Heatwaves may occur, but they are usually quite mild at the coastal areas, where temperatures are moderated by the relatively cooler sea and the sea breeze.
Which Greek island is not windy?
Thus the choice is islands out of the Central and Southern Aegean such as Thassos and the Sporades like Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos, or the Ionion group i.e. Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Ithaki, Kefalonia, Zakinthos. You still get the wind, however it is a lot less persistant and strong.
Why is Greece so windy?
The barometric depressions of the Mediterranean becomes the reason why the winds are changing frequently and irregularly, but some winds are distinctive and somehow regular. Such a wind is the Sirocco or Sorocos in Greek. Sirocco blows in Greece as a south or southwestern wind and its muggy.
Which is the windiest Greek island?
Mykonos is known as the windy island as it is one of those affected by the Meltemi, particularly in the July – August period. Outside of the Meltemi season, Mykonos is no more or less windy than other areas in Greece.
What are Etesian winds?
etesian wind, remarkably steady southbound drift of the lower atmosphere over the eastern Mediterranean and adjacent lands in summer. From about mid-May to mid-September, it generally dominates the Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean seas and the adjacent countries.
Why is Greece windy?
Is Mykonos too windy?
In Mykonos, a small Greek island in the group of the Cyclades, the climate is Mediterranean, with mild, rainy winters and warm, sunny summers. The island is windy, and it’s cooler in summer than other islands of Greece. The wind has been exploited for centuries by windmills, which are found all over the island.
Where are the Meltemi winds?
Meltemi winds – Greek islands yachting and sailing vacations the Aegean: Turkey and Greece. The Meltemi – μελτέμι was known by the old Greeks as the Etesian northerly winds, and results from a high pressure system (>1025) laying over the Balkan/Hungary area and a relatively low pressure (<1010) system over Turkey .
Are meltemi winds dangerous to sail?
Meltemi winds are dangerous to sailors because they come up in clear weather without warning and can blow at 7–8 Beaufort. Some yachts and most inter-island ferries cannot sail under such conditions. However, they often provide a good, steady sailing wind favored by leisure sailors.
What does Meltem stand for?
Meltem is a Turkish given name for females. It derives from the Turkish word for the strong, dry, north winds of the Aegean Sea (Greek etesiai ετησίαι or meltemi μελτέμι).
When does the Meltemi occur?
The Meltemi occurs mainly during the summer season (June – September with 70%), but also in May and October one may frequently experience this dry wind, but anticipate its maximum – also in strength or duration – during July and August.