The Marin is a warm, moist wind in the
Gulf of Lion
The Gulf of Lion or Gulf of Lions (French: ''golfe du Lion'', Spanish: ''golfo de León'', Italian: ''Golfo del Leone'', Occitan: ''golf del/dau Leon'', Catalan: ''golf del Lleó'', Medieval Latin: ''sinus Leonis'', ''mare Leonis'', Classical L ...
of France, blowing from the southeast or south-southeast onto the coast of
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
and
Roussillon. It brings rain to this region which it has picked up crossing the Mediterranean, and also can bring coastal fog. The clouds carried by the Marin frequently cause rain on the slopes of the mountains in the interior, the
Corbières Massif,
Montagne Noire, and the
Cévennes
The Cévennes ( , ; oc, Cevenas) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the ''départements'' of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geogra ...
. The wind is usually dried by the
föhn
A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the leeward, lee (downwind side) of a mountain range.
It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped m ...
effect when it crosses the mountains and descends on the other side. The Marin wind contributes to the creation of another regional wind, the . The Marin blows gently from the offshore coast of the Mediterranean towards the Cévennes and the Montagne Noire. When this occurs it creates fine weather for swimming in the gulf, but when the wind is strong it creates heavy swells which strike the coast with high breaking waves.
[Descriptions of local and regional winds on the Internet site of Meteo-France.]
The Marin is next in frequency and importance to the
mistral
Mistral may refer to:
* Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia
Automobiles
* Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970
* Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006
* Microp ...
, the cold, dry northwest wind in Provence. It is caused by
low-pressure systems which enter the Gulf of Lion from the west or southwest after traversing southern France and northern Spain.
See also
*
Bora (wind)
The bora is a northerly to north-easterly katabatic wind in areas near the Adriatic Sea. Similar nomenclature is used for north-eastern winds in other littoral areas of eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea basins.
Name
It is known in Greek as ...
*
Etesian
The etesians ( or ; grc, ἐτησίαι, etēsiai, periodic winds; sometimes found in the Latin form etesiae), ''meltemia'' ( el, ετησίες,μελτέμια; pl. of meltemi), or meltem ( Turkish) are the strong, dry north winds of the Aegea ...
*
Gregale
The Gregale ( ca, Gregal, it, Grecale, , mt, Grigal, , el, Γραίγος, ''Graigos'') is a Mediterranean wind that can occur during times when a low-pressure area moves through the area to the south of Malta and causes a strong, cool, northea ...
*
Levant (wind)
The levant ( ca, Llevant, it, Levante, mt, Lvant, el, Λεβάντες, es, Levante) is an easterly wind that blows in the western Mediterranean Sea and southern France, an example of mountain-gap wind. In Roussillon it is called "llevant" ...
*
Leveche
The libeccio (; Leveche ; sh, lebić ; ca, llebeig ; mt, Lbiċ; el, λίβας ; oc, labech ) ; el, γαρμπής, links=no ; it, garbino ; sh, garbin, links=no ; es, garbino, ; oc, garbin ). is the westerly or south-westerly wind wh ...
*
Mistral (wind)
The mistral ( ca, Mestral, el, Μαΐστρος, it, Maestrale, mt, Majjistral, Corsican: ''Maestrale'') is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of Lion in the northern Mediterranean. It produces ...
*
Sirocco
Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season.
Names
''Sirocco'' derives from ...
*
Tramontane
Tramontane ( ) ; french: tramontane ; el, τραμουντάνα, tramountána, ; it, tramontana ; la, trānsmontānus ; mt, tramuntana ; sl, tramontana ; sh, tramontana ; es, link=no, tramontana . is a classical name for a northern wind ...
*
Winds of Provence
References
*Jean Vialar
''Les vents régionaux et locaux'' 1948, réédité par Météo-France en 2003
External links
Meteo-FranceFrench-language on meteorology
Local Mediterranean winds
Winds
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pl:Marin (wiatr)