Sirocco ( ) or scirocco 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
(), verbal noun of , related to the East,
aš-šarq. Various names for this wind in other languages include:
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or marin
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or eisseròc
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, or σιρόκος romanized: sirókos
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or shiroku
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(југо), in Croatia rarely širok (широк)
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or mainasso
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Libyan Arabic: قبلي, romanized: , which means "coming from the Qibla"
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, which means "fifty" ("fifty-day wind")
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, probably from شروق with the same meaning as ; or شهيلي
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, pronounced širguī (see: Chergui)
The Roman poet Horace refers to the sirocco at Trevico in Apulia as "Atabulus" (a Messapic word) in his account of his journey to Brundisium in 37 BC.[Horace, Satires, 1.5.78.]
Development
Siroccos arise from warm, dry, tropical air masses that are pulled northward by low-pressure cells moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea, with the wind originating in the Arabian or Sahara deserts.
[Golden Gate Weather Services. Names of Winds. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.] The hotter, drier continental air mixes with the cooler, wetter air of the maritime
cyclone, and the counter-clockwise circulation of the low propels the mixed air across the southern coasts of Europe.
Effects
The sirocco causes dusty dry conditions along the northern coast of Africa, storms in the Mediterranean Sea, and warm wet weather in Southern Europe. The sirocco does not affect other parts of Europe. The sirocco's duration may be as short as half a day or may last several days. While passing over the Mediterranean Sea, the sirocco picks up moisture; this results in rainfall in the southern part of
Italy, known locally as "blood rain" due to the red sand mixed with the falling rain.
Sirocco is commonly perceived as causing unease and an irritable mood in people.
Sirocco winds with speeds of up to are most common during autumn and spring. They reach a peak in March and in November when it is very hot.
When combined with a rising tide, the sirocco can cause the acqua alta phenomenon in the Venetian Lagoon.
This wind also has an impact on fishing. For example, the Anchovy caught in the Gulf of Trieste, near Barcola, which are in great demand as a delicacy, are caught only in a sirocco. In cold winds, like the bora, the fish disappear into the Adriatic Sea.[Georges Desrues, "Eine Lange Nacht am Meer", In: Triest - Servus Magazin (2020), p 73.]
See also
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Foehn wind: warm downslope winds
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Notus
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Santa Ana winds: wind phenomenon observed in California
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Studio Ghibli § Name
External links
