Suetes, ''suêtes'', ''les suêtes'', are strong south-east

foehn wind A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windw ...

s on the west coast of

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

. The term "suête" originates from the

Acadian French Acadian French () is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has seven regional accents, including Chiac and Brayon. Phonology Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with F ...

inhabitants of the Chéticamp area as a contraction of "sud est" (south-east). The western edge of the

Cape Breton Highlands The Cape Breton Highlands (, ), commonly called the Highlands, refer to a highland or mountainous plateau across the northern part of Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Considered a subrange of the Appalachian mountai ...

plateau slopes abruptly down to sea level from approximately altitude. South-easterly winds lift on the east side of the island and flow across the plateau, frequently accelerating to high velocities on the steep downslope in stable airmass condition. The weather station at Grand Etang has recorded wind speeds of over on several occasions.

References

External links

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Suetes winds on youtube
Föhn effect Inverness County, Nova Scotia Mountain meteorology Winds {{Acadia-stub