IN INDIA LOCAL WINDS

MANGO SHOWER:

 Towards the end of summer, there are pre-monsoon showers which are a common phenomenon in Kerala and coastal areas of Karnataka. Locally, they are known as mango showers since they help in the early ripening of mangoes.

(ii) BLOSSOM SHOWER: With this shower, coffee flowers blossom in Kerala and nearby areas.

 (iii) NOR WESTERS: These are dreaded evening thunderstorms in Bengal and Assam. Their notorious nature can be understood from the local nomenclature of ‘KALBAISAKHI’, a calamity of the month of Baisakhi. These showers are useful for tea, jute and rice cultivation. In Assam, these storms are known as “BARDOLI CHHEERHA”.

• LOO: Hot, dry and oppressing winds blowing in the Northern plains from Punjab to Bihar with higher intensity between Delhi and Patna.

WORLD LOCAL WINDS

Bora: North easterly from eastern Europe to north eastern Italy

Chinook: Warm dry westerly off the Rocky Mountains

Fohn: Warm dry southerly off the northern side of the Alps and Switzerland.

Harmattan: Dry northerly wind across central Africa

Karaburan: ‘Black storm’ a spring and summer katabatic wind of central Asia

Khamsin: South easterly from North Africa to the eastern Mediterranean

Loo: Hot and dry wind which blows over plains of India and Pakistan.

Mistral: Cold northerly from central France and the Alps to Mediterranean.

Nor’easter: Strong winds from the northeast in the eastern United States, especially New England

Nor ’wester: Wind that brings rain to the West Coast, and warm dry winds to the East Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, caused by the moist prevailing winds being uplifted over the Southern Alps, often accompanied by a distinctive arched cloud pattern.

Pampero: Argentina, very strong wind which blows in the Pampa.

Simoom: Strong, dry, desert wind that blows in the Sahara, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the desert of Arabia.

Sirocco: Southerly from North Africa to southern Europe.

Zonda wind: On the eastern slope of the Andes in Argentina.