Viento de Levante

"Viento de Levante" or "the Levanter" refers to an easterly wind that blows in the western Mediterranean, an example of mountain-gap wind.

Description

The wind rises in the central Mediterranean or around the Balearic Islands and blows westwards reaching its greatest intensity through the Strait of Gibraltar. The winds are moist carrying fog and precipitation in the eastern side of the Strait, but dry in the western side, as the moisture rains on the mountains between Algeciras and Tarifa. The winds are well known for creating a particular cloud formation above the Rock of Gibraltar. The Levanter winds can occur at any time in the year, but are most common from May to October.

The Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar, located at the western entrance to the Mediterranean, is frequently associated with strong gap winds that can produce dangerous seas, especially when they blow against tide and current. As shown in the figure below , the Gibraltar represents a narrow sea-level passage about 15 km wide and 55 km long that is surrounded by terrain reaching several thousand feet. The most pronounced gap wind though the Strait is from the east and is known as the Levanter, which can produce winds of 20-40 kt in and to the west of the gap. High pressure is found over the eastern Mediterranean, with lower pressure to the west of Gibraltar. The sinking motions accompanying such anticyclonic conditions often results in the formation of an inversion a few thousand feet above the surface. Such an inversion provides a vertical stable layer or cap that contains the low-level air and results in greater topographic blocking and stronger gap flow. A large horizontal gradient exists over the Strait, and winds accelerate downgradient from high to low pressure within the gap. Under such circumstances, the winds can go from near calm in the eastern Mediterranean (known as the Alboran Sea) to gale force strength on the western side of the Strait. It is important to stress that the strongest winds are not observed mid-Strait, as might be expected if the funnel mechanism was dominant; rather, the strongest winds are over the western Strait and immediately downwind to the west. Levanters are most frequent during the warm season from May through October.

Derivation

The name of the wind pattern comes from the "levante" ( _es. east), the perceived origin point of the winds, and it is used to describe both east and the wind coming from the east. The opposite of the levante is the "poniente" ( _es. west). Levante originates from the verb "levantar" ( _es. to rise) and refers to the fact that the sun rises from the east. In the same way, "poniente" comes from the verb "poner" (or "ponerse" in its intransitive form) ( _es. to put down : lay down : lie down) and again refers to the fact that the sun sets in the west. Both of these terms, "levante" and "poniente", are commonly used in Spanish sea terminology to indicate directions, east and west, while at sea.Fact|date=May 2008

In popular culture

* This wind is a namesake for a song by Gibraltarian Flamenco Metal band Breed 77, who titled atrack from their 2006 In My Blood (En Mi Sangre) album, "Viento De Levante".
* In 2007, the Levante was used as a way of advertising Coca-Cola Zero in Gibraltar by using the phrase "Gibraltar without the Levante".
* In his novel "", Paulo Coelho refers to the Levante, describing the wind that brought the Moors to Spain.

References

*Bendall, A. A., 1982: Low-level flow through the Strait of Gibraltar. Meteor. Mag., 111, 149-153
*Dorman, C. E., R. C. Beardsley, and R. Limeburner, 1995: Winds in the Strait of Gibraltar. Quart. J. Royal Met. Soc., 121, 1903-1921

*Scorer, R.S., 1952: Mountain-gap winds; a study of the surface wind in Gibraltar. Quart. J. Royal Met. Soc., 78, 53-59