The Mistral is a cold, mostly dry downdraft in the lower Rhone Valley in southern France. The wind is created when a high pressure area has its center over the Bay of Biscay or generally over the nearby Atlantic and a northerly current sets in on its eastern flank. This often results in a bise situation in the western Swiss plateau.
Weather situation on February 4, 2023. Mistral, Bora and north foehn occurred simultaneously on this day. From February 3 to 5, 2023, an occasionally stormy Mistral blew in the lower Rhone Valley. In Provence, gusts reached 80 to 110 km/h. On these days, a north foehn situation also developed on the southern side of the Alps, with the temperature in Ticino rising to a very mild 19 degrees. Further east, a stormy and cold Bora had established itself at the same time between the high over Western Europe and a strong low over Southeastern Europe.
Weather situation on February 4, 2023. Mistral, Bora and north foehn occurred simultaneously on this day. From February 3 to 5, 2023, an
A cork oak in the Rhone Valley, shaped by the frequently occurring Mistral
A cork oak in the Rhone Valley, shaped by the frequent Mistral winds. (Nick Stahlkocher, Wikipedia)
MeteoFrance has a nice overview of the different local winds in France under this
linkoccasionally stormy Mistral blew in the lower Rhone Valley. In Provence, gusts reached 80 to 110 km/h. On these days, a north foehn situation also developed on the southern side of the Alps, with the temperature in Ticino rising to a very mild 19 degrees. Further east, a stormy and cold Bora had established itself at the same time between the high poland phone number library over Western Europe and a strong low over Southeastern Europe. (MeteoSwiss)
The Mistral blows particularly strongly when a low develops over the Gulf of Genoa between a high over Western Europe, or when a northwesterly position develops between the high and a low over Northern or Northeastern Europe. In this situation, we often have a traffic jam on the northern slope of the Alps, and the north foehn blows on the southern side of the Alps. The topography in southern France means that the northerly wind is trapped between the Massif Central and the Western Alps and accelerates. In southern France, gusts often reach over 100 km/h. While the Mistral often ensures sunny weather, the sea along the coast can cool noticeably in the summer months due to the offshore wind.
A Bora is a cold stormy downdraft along
the Adriatic coast between Slovenia and Montenegro. The Bora is often accompanied by cold air outbreaks towards southeastern Europe. As a rule, between a high over central Europe and a low over southeastern Europe (see weather situation above), polar cold air flows from the northeast towards the Balkan Peninsula, flows over the Dinaric travel with peace of mind Mountains and falls as a stormy downdraft to the Adriatic coast.
Weather situation on Monday, February 6, 2023 at 00 UTC according to the weather model IFS HRES. The gust peaks are shown superimposed with the wind plumes and the air pressure at sea level. That night, wind speeds of 140 km/h occurred in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Weather situation on Monday, February 6, 2023 at 00 UTC according to the weather model IFS HRES. The gust peaks are shown superimposed with the wind plumes and the air pressure at sea level. germany cell number That night, wind peaks of 140 km/h occurred in Dubrovnik, Croatia. (ECMWF and MeteoSwiss)
The Bora blows particularly frequently in winter and can sometimes last for several days. For example, the Bora has been blowing continuously since February 4th, with short breaks. In Dubrovnik on the Croatian Adriatic coast, the Bora reached wind speeds of almost 140 km/h on February 6th, with temperatures between 0 and 3 degrees.