Knowing the wind direction, especially when on vacation in an unfamiliar or unknown area, can be very useful. Let's see why and how to do it.
Knowing where the wind comes from can help us choose the best beach to spend a windy day and also evaluate which excursion/activity is most suitable: photography, birdwatching, trekking and land excursions, watersports or simply beach and relaxation. You can also rent a car and take advantage of the day to explore the countryside.
On particularly windy days, you can always find a quiet spot to swim and relax. If you want to take spectacular photos, it can be very interesting to consider visiting lighthouses or viewpoints to admire the sea and the waves from the heights and get shots from privileged observation areas.
Feel The Wind
The first thing to do is to “feel the air” with all your senses. Look at the water and the waves, look for flags, face into the wind, smell it, wet your finger to feel its direction.
Finding the direction from which the breeze comes can also be a fun game to play on the beach with children, just like sandcastles.
All winds have a name and peculiar characteristics. First, remember that the wind is named from the direction it comes from, not the direction it blows towards.
Once you understand the direction from which the air blows, it becomes fun to associate the specific name of the wind with its direction and perhaps learn about its characteristics and curiosities.
Find The Wind Direction
To know the name of the wind blowing today, you can use a very simple trick:
- draw a circle in the sand (the bigger it is, the easier)
- make a mark on the circumference at north (use a compass, your mobile, or a needle on a leaf in the water)
- starting from the north mark and moving clockwise, divide the circle as if it were a cake of 8 equal slices
- make a mark on the circumference corresponding to the direction the air is coming from (look at the flags, wet your finger, face into the wind)
- moving clockwise, count the cake slices separating the north mark from the wind direction mark
- find the correspondence below and you're done:
- slice 1 = Tramontana
- slice 2 = Grecale
- slice 3 = Levante
- slice 4 = Scirocco
- slice 5 = Ostro or Mezzogiorno
- slice 6 = Libeccio
- slice 7 = Ponente
- slice 8 = Maestrale
The Winds Blowing In Sardinia
In Sardinia, it's easy to encounter a windy day; however, know that wherever you are, you can find a beach or a cove sheltered from the wind blowing that day. The first thing to do, therefore, is to understand which wind is blowing today.
Being on a beach with wind coming straight from the sea can be uncomfortable because during swimming and snorkeling, you might find waves that make the activity difficult.
The noise of the sea can quickly change from a sweet background melody to a predominant sound that hinders relaxation and reading a book.
Open the map, then choose a beach where the wind comes from land and possibly has a natural barrier – like a dune – to have protection from the air.
Remember that a beach can have more protected areas than others, so choose carefully the best place to set up your umbrella.
Consider that the windiest seasons in Sardinia are generally autumn, winter, and spring. Usually in summer, except for particularly windy years, the prevailing winds are the Maestrale (which blows from the Northwest) and Scirocco (which blows from the Southeast).
If possible, to shelter from the Maestrale, choose beaches facing south and east. To shelter from the Scirocco, choose beaches or portions of beach facing north and west.
The Rose of Winds With 8 Points
Origin of the Wind Names
Consider that the winds have a name in Italy and in some regions of southern Europe that face the Mediterranean.
For example, in Great Britain, winds are primarily and preferably identified using cardinal direction names. For instance, the Maestrale in England is called the northwest wind.
Here is the origin and reason for the names of the winds:
- Tramontana – wind coming from trans montes, transmontano, beyond the mountains
- Grecale – wind coming from Greece
- Levante – wind coming from where the sun rises
- Scirocco – wind coming from Syria
- Ostro or Mezzogiorno – wind coming from noon or southern
- Libeccio – wind coming from Libya
- Ponente – wind coming from where the sun sets
- Maestrale – wind coming from Rome the main city or Mistral from France and the Gulf of Lyon or master because it is the prevailing wind in the Mediterranean
Characteristics of the Winds
Every wind, in addition to its specific name, has its peculiar characteristics that distinguish it.
Let’s start with the winds coming from the 4 cardinal points and their 4 subdivisions.
Wind from the NORTH Tramontana ⬇️
Tramontana is a wind that comes from the north – indicating the north – thus losing the tramontana means losing direction, orientation, control, being disoriented. It is a dry wind, cool in summer and very cold in winter. This wind causes sudden and significant drops in temperatures.
Wind from the NORTHEAST Grecale ↙️
The Grecale is a wind that comes from the northeast. It can change its characteristics depending on the season in which it manifests; in summer it can be warm, in winter it is a dry and cold wind. In Sardinia, it is predominantly a winter wind that can reach considerable intensity, with strong gusts, the famous grecalate.
Wind from the EAST Levante ⬅️
The Levante is a wind that comes from the east. Generally cool and humid, it is often accompanied by haze/fog and rain. It can blow at any time of the year, but in winter, the Levante often brings intense rainfall.
Wind from the SOUTHEAST Scirocco ↖️
Scirocco is a wind that comes from the southeast. A person “sciroccata” is generally a confused and a bit eccentric person, just like this wind, and when it is intense, so are the feelings it induces in people. It is warm and humid, the sciroccate often carry red sand. When it forms, it is warm and dry, but to reach Italy, it must cross the sea, adding humidity. It is the hot wind by excellence that causes increased temperatures and perceived heat due to its intense and high humidity.
Wind from the SOUTH Ostro or Mezzogiorno ⬆️
Ostro or Mezzogiorno is a wind that comes from the south. It is a southern wind, certainly warm. It can be a very warm and dry wind if generated by the North African anticyclone. It manifests itself as a humid wind when carrying precipitation and therefore precedes rain.
Wind from the SOUTHWEST Libeccio ↗️
The Libeccio is a wind that comes from the southwest. In Sardinia, it often manifests with strong gusts and can create intense storm surges, known as libecciate. The libeccio is often a humid wind, sometimes bringing sand and can carry rain.
Wind from the WEST Ponente ➡️
The Ponente is a wind that comes from the west. Especially in summer, it helps to moderate temperatures in Sardinia. In winter, it can blow significantly but almost always brings good weather.
Wind from the NORTHWEST Maestrale ↘️
The Mestrale is a wind that comes from the northwest. Certainly one of the most famous and well-known winds in Italy, it is a cool and often dry wind that can have truly high intensity, the maestralate, with strong gusts in Sardinia and Corsica.
One of the characteristics of the Maestrale wind is its ability to make colors very vivid: the Mediterranean scrub shows its most intense green, and the blue of the sea takes on incredible hues.
On days with Maestrale, the contrast between the color of the sky and the color of the sea is truly astonishing.
Nursery Rhyme About Winds
An old nursery rhyme from fishermen describes the characteristics of the winds in relation to fishing. Like all sayings and proverbs, it contains some truths and some poetic licenses used to compose the rhyme.
“Tramontana fish in the den
Grecale local fish don’t go there
Levante abundant fish
Scirocco few fish
Mezzogiorno fish in the oven
Libeccio homemade fish
Ponente no fish
Maestrale fish in the canal”