What's all this I keep reading about a wind called the Mistral?
 

One of the areas I'm looking at for a trip next spring is Provence. The guidebooks all mention this terrible wind. Does it blow all year or is it a seasonal thing? Is it so bad as to affect my sightseeing? It's not as if there are ferry schedules to worry about or anything like that so is it really an issue?

I've encountered the mistral on almost every trip I've taken to Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône area), and that has spanned several seasons. It may not affect your sightseeing in any serious way, but it's darned annoying. I've actually cut my hair really short the past two times I've gone there so I didn't have to deal with "eating my hair" during the mistral. The locals will tell you it blows in groups of 3 days - 3, 6, or 9. It can be very powerful and somewhat maddening. In early June, the day I drove from Provence to the Dordogne, the mistral was blowing so hard there were signs up on the autoroute noting "vents violents" and all the windsocks were standing at 90 degree angles to the road. Driving in a small car was a chore. I don't know whether I'd say it's an "issue" or not, but when it blows your day sightseeing won't be as carefree as when it's not blowing.

Believe the stories. It can REALLY blow. Bobbi was literally blown off a platform - I caught her or she would have been injured. My cousin couldn't open his car door at one point. But it won't affect your sightseeing. Once you experience it, you kind of get used to it and it's just a bit of a nuisance. An interesting experience also. For Paris information e-mail me: [email protected]

Hi Dianne,<BR><BR>Like the other posts here, I, too, have witnessed the infamous Mistral one day while we were at the Sunday market in L'Isle sur la Sorgue. It is all they say it is. The winds came up all of a sudden. As I remember it, my throat became very irritated that day and could hardly keep my eyes open due to the heavy winds. It was a warm day, but those winds sent a chill down my spine! Had to put on a heavy coat to keep warm. Later in afternoon,in the village of Bonnieux up at the large church, it almost blew us over while walking up the steep steps. That day it lasted from about noon till dusk, then it was all over. Be on the watch!<BR>

La, la, la....they call the wind Mar..i...a......!<BR><BR>Is this the same wind?

If the Mistral howls in February, and hits the Cote a'Azur, then I'm sure I must have experienced it. <BR><BR>I was in the Cours Saleya in Vieux Nice, at the antiques market, in February '96 when a wind started blowing out of nowhere as if someone had just flipped a switch. Within seconds, literally, it was blowing things off tables and knocking over canopies. <BR><BR>"Winds in the Mediterranian: The Mistral and the C&ocirc;te Varoise"<BR><BR>http://www.esys.org/wetter/mistrale.html

For the French the Mistral has a kind of quasi-religious quality only to topped by a wind called the foen which blows up from the Sahara. Thr foen is much worse in that it causes depression and suicides.<BR><BR>These winds generate great stories that are part of the folklore. Much the same as inordinate concerns about the liver.<BR><BR>It,the Mistral, does blow hard down the Rhone Valley. Farm buildings and churches are designed and landscaped to keep damage to a minimum. <BR><BR>We have been to Provence in late Aug. to mid-Sept. but have never experienced the full force.

No, it is ....the wayward wind....is a restless wind....a restless wind....that..yearns..to.. waanderr....

Forget Dick Clark. Check out:<BR>http://ams.confex.com/ams/10Mountain...acts/40711.htm

John, what does that have to do with the song? And which song is the right one? Oh, French trivia-ites or is it an American song?

I can't remember exactly Where Or When (in France) but I do remember the wind was so strong we could barely make it from the parking lot to the restaurant we were visiting. Also had a similar experience in Greece (Monemvasia). Forget what the Greeks call it, but wind whipped up during the night and nearly blew us to Turkey!!

The American band Heart, led by sisters Ann & Nancy Wilson, had a minor hit song a number of years back with "Mistral Wind", the first time I'd heard of it. <BR><BR>I believe I read that there's no connection (as in one didn't take their name from the other) between Frederic Mistral and the name of the wind. Does anyone know if that's true? Thanks.

John, thanks, that made for fascinating reading. Wish I could write off my vacation expenses as a wind researcher!!<BR><BR>A Force 6 wind is cause for a small craft advisory: not uncommon in the spring and fall where I live. So the Mistral in April in Provence didn't seem unusually strong, but what I did notice was that it brought cold air into what can be a very warm and pleasant place at that time of year.

Thanks alot, Dick, now I am humming The Wayward Wind is a restless wind...now my night is ruined, I will hum it until tomorrow.

<BR>I can tell you folks, it is blowing big time tonight (1:35 AM here). I can confirm it does get on your nerves after a couple of days. The only advantage is that the sky becomes crystal clear. And no, it does not affect sightseeing too much. Carrying a windbreaker is a good idea.

Just popped into my head (in case any body cares!) In Greece it's called the Meltemi (sp?)

Thanks everyone. I was surprised to check in today and see so many responses. I was thinking of Arles as a base, but on the map it looks like that will be right in the path of the dreaded wind! <BR><BR>It's good to hear that it clears the skys - nice for taking photos. I'll have to bring hair clips or I might have a bunch of pictures of my hair blowing in front of the lens! It doesn't sound like picnics would be much fun during a Mistral either.<BR><BR>If it did blow for several days, how far would I have to go to escape a while? <BR><BR>

This is fascinating -- having never had the pleasure of visiting that part of France, I really hadn't heard much about it. Can someone please explain where it comes from, what is the meteorological explanation for it?

We didn't experience the mistral, but we experienced the tremontaine (same kind of thing just further west near Montpellier and Perpignan)this past February. Honestly the wind was blowing consistently for several days at 80MPH (not K, but miles). It would literally take your breath away if you faced into it. I actually saw a brief piece on the news that said the TGVs were not running due to the wind. We were still out in it. but it certainly did cramp our style.

Does the Sirocco from North Africa cause the Greek metemi? For map of the winds and descriptions:<BR><BR>http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/~medex/tutorial/medex/winds/wind_all.html<BR><BR>First time my sister went to the south of France, we're in St Tropez, walking near the shore when KABLAM, we looked like those cartoon characters walking into a strong wind. First, the wind was was warm, then almost immediately it was cold. We hotfooted it away from the edge of the sea, let me tell you.

Hi<BR><BR>The mistral ...................... the truth<BR><BR>Hi<BR><BR>I live between Nimes and Montpellier.<BR><BR>Fact<BR><BR>1) It blows down the Rhone valley, so I am partly sheltered. It is at its worst in Avignon, Arles.<BR>2) It blows for 3,6,9 days....... 9 very rarely<BR>3) It is very dry (20%), with blue skies<BR>4) In winter it is cold<BR>5) In summer it is ambient temp and refreshing<BR>6) It only blows a few times each year<BR>7) Thats it !<BR><BR>Peter

Still blowing tonight!!<BR>Someone asked for a meteorological explanation; here it is (free translation form a French weather site): <BR><BR>The wind is a movement of air. The wind always blows from the atmospheric high pressure areas towards the zones of low pressures. The differences in atmospheric pressure are primarily due to the differences in temperature: the air which is heated dilates and rises, the colder air relatively heavier comes to take its place: the wind blows. Atmospheric pressure is measured in hecto pascals (hpa). The normal pressure on the sea level is of 1013 hpa. Above that, one speaks about high pressure (anticyclone): below that of low pressures (depression). But it is especially the difference in pressure between two places which is to be taken into account: the more significant it is, the stronger the wind will blow extremely. The rotation of the earth also has an influence on the direction of the winds.<BR><BR>The mistral is a wind of the North-West (NW) to North (N), cool or cold and often strong, which affects the North of the basin of the Western Mediterranean. It is called tramontana in the South-west of France, mistral in Provence and on the Riviera, but it is the same wind which can blow until the south of the Balearic Islands and reach the north of Tunisia. However, one should be wary of local names: in Nice, for example, any cold wind is qualified as mistral, even if it comes from south-west (SW). In Corsica, where it blows rather of the West (W), only its temperature makes it possible to distinguish it from Libeccio, which is a strong wind or violent one of W with SW. Sometimes in Marseilles, one tends to call mistral a simple thermal breeze of good weather (of western sector) which became a bit stronger!<BR>The appearance of the mistral (and the Tramontana) is related to the arrival of a fresh maritime flow of Atlantic origin, or of a continental cold flow, which arrives to the Mediterranean through the col of Lauragais and the Rhone-Saone corridor.

I toured Provence(Gordes) in early June. The winds were indeed extraordinarily noticable. Was that the Minstral? S

No, Sylvie, that was the minstrel.

My dear, it was your menstrual.

<BR>Sylvie: was it wind from the North? Then it was mistral.<BR>This explains why most houses, especially older ones, in Provence face South: both the front door and the back yard. North side walls will only have a couple of small windows. That is why landscapes are lined with beautiful cypress walls: windbreakers for the crops.<BR>Dianne: please do not worry about it. It is, always has, and probably always will be part of life in Provence.

From where does the Mistral commence? The alps?

<BR> The answer, my friend<BR><BR> is blowin in the wind

It must be like its Greek counterpart, the meltemi; experienced it during an entire stay on Mykonos in May,'97. It was very annoying and just never stopped, night and day for 3 days! Only good feature, from tourists' point of view, was that it prevented cruise ships from coming into the harbor, so we almost had the island to ourselves! Jewelers were supposedly reducing prices b/c business was so bad w/o the daytrippers! So far have been lucky enough to avoid the Mistral in Provence!

<BR>The mistral stopped during the night.<BR>This morning is absolutely gorgeous.<BR>Fresh air, and a picture perfect blue sky!

So that was less than 48 hours. I think I could manage that. Honestly gloomy rainy weather would affect me more than a little (ok, big) wind. I'll keep Provence on my list!

So did it last 3, 6 or 9 days?

Etymology: French, from Proven&ccedil;al, from "mistral" (masterful), from Late Latin "magistralis" (of a teacher.) <BR><BR>Masterful sounds quite appropriate.

Something about this thread makes me want to make a fart joke.