The Mediterranean wind compass
Every wind on a Mediterranean chart has a name, a direction and a personality. Tap a sector — or type a bearing in degrees — and meet the wind that's blowing.
Maestrale
NW · 315° ± 22.5°- Italian
- Maestrale
- French
- Mistral
- Croatian
- Maestral
- Greek
- Maistros
The 'masterly' north-westerly. In France and on Sardinia's west coast it arrives cold, dry and strong; on the Croatian coast 'Maestral' means the gentle summer NW sea breeze instead — same direction, opposite temperament.
The Mistral is the Med's most famous wind machine: days of 25–40 kt, sunshine and spray from the Rhône delta to beyond Corsica (its Sardinian cousin keeps the island's west coast wild). The Croatian Maestral is the friendly 10–20 kt afternoon thermal every Adriatic sailor plans lunch around.
The eight winds of the rose
The classical compass rose — the names come from the Italian maritime tradition and still label the winds on charts, harbour walls and weather bulletins around the entire sea. Directions are where the wind blows from.
| Wind | From | French | Croatian | Greek |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tramontana | N · 0° | Tramontane | Tramontana | Tramountana |
| Grecale | NE · 45° | Grec | Bura (its Adriatic cousin) | Gregos |
| Levante | E · 90° | Levant | Levanat | Levantes |
| Scirocco | SE · 135° | Sirocco / Marin | Jugo | Sirokos |
| Ostro | S · 180° | Vent du sud | Oštro | Ostria |
| Libeccio | SW · 225° | Libeccio | Lebić / Garbin | Garbis |
| Ponente | W · 270° | Ponant | Pulenat | Pounentes |
| Maestrale | NW · 315° | Mistral | Maestral | Maistros |
The winds people plan around
Beyond the rose, a handful of named winds define whole coastlines — when they blow, everyone on the water knows it.
Mistral
from NW
Gulf of Lion — Rhône valley to Corsica & Sardinia
All year; most violent in winter and spring · Commonly 25–40 kt, gusts beyond 50 kt; lasts 1–9 days
Cold air funnelled down the Rhône between the Alps and the Massif Central, accelerating out over the Gulf of Lion under a hard blue sky. It clears the air, drops the temperature and turns the whole gulf white. The best-documented wind in France — and the reason the Camargue and west Corsica are wind-sports country.
Tramontane
from NW–N
Languedoc-Roussillon, Gulf of Lion's west flank
All year, peaks in winter/spring · Comparable to the Mistral; frequently 20–35 kt
The Mistral's twin, funnelled between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central toward Leucate and Gruissan — which is why those lagoons are packed with kites and wings whenever it blows.
Bura (Bora)
from NE, falling off the coastal mountains
Eastern Adriatic — Trieste, Kvarner, Velebit channel, Dalmatia
Strongest in winter; short summer episodes · Katabatic gusts are the danger: 40–60 kt is common in strong events, extremes far beyond
Cold air pouring over the Dinaric wall and falling onto the sea in violent, cold downbursts. It can double its speed in a single gust, which is what makes it both feared by sailors and — in its milder moods — loved by expert windsurfers off Senj and the Velebit channel. Slovenians know it as the Burja on the Karst.
Jugo
from SE, along the basin's long axis
The whole Adriatic
Autumn through spring; rarer and shorter in summer · Typically 15–30 kt, building over days
The Adriatic's Scirocco: warm, humid, grey, arriving slowly and building the biggest organised seas the Adriatic gets thanks to the full length of the basin as fetch. Old Dalmatian lore blames it for headaches and bad moods; riders just see long-period power.
Maestral
from NW, midday to sunset
Croatian & Slovenian coast
Summer fair-weather days · 10–20 kt, peaking mid-afternoon
The Adriatic's thermal sea breeze — switches on before noon, tops out around 16:00, dies with the sun. The most plannable wind on the coast, and the one most Croatian sessions are built on.
Meltemi
from N–NE
Aegean Sea
June to September, peaking July–August · Routinely 20–30 kt for days, gusts higher in the island channels
The Aegean's summer engine: dry northerly airflow between the Balkan high and the Asian heat low, accelerating between the Cyclades. Paros, Naxos and Rhodes owe it their wind resorts — and August charter sailors their reefs.
Common questions
What direction does the Mistral blow from?
From the north-west: cold air accelerates down the Rhône valley and out over the Gulf of Lion. It commonly blows 25–40 knots for one to three days (sometimes more than a week), with clear skies — that combination of sun and strong wind is why the French Med coast is a wind-sports mecca.
What's the difference between Bura and Jugo on the Adriatic?
Bura (Bora) is a cold, dry north-easterly falling off the coastal mountains in violent gusts — dangerous, strongest in winter, arrives fast. Jugo is the warm, humid south-easterly that builds slowly along the length of the Adriatic, bringing rain, grey skies and the basin's biggest waves.
Are Maestrale and Mistral the same wind?
Same compass point (NW) and the same root — 'masterly wind' — but different characters by coast: the French Mistral is a strong, cold pressure-driven wind, while the Croatian Maestral is the gentle summer afternoon sea breeze. Italian Maestrale sits in between and can be either.
Which Mediterranean wind is best for kitesurfing and windsurfing?
Depends on the coast: Mistral and Tramontane for France (Leucate, the Camargue), the summer Maestral thermal and expert-level Bura for Croatia, the Meltemi for the Greek islands, and Scirocco days for long-fetch power across the central Med.
Named or not — see which wind is on your coast right now.
WindNow shows live wind speed, gusts and direction from real coastal weather stations across France, Croatia and Slovenia — minutes old, not a forecast.
Open the live wind map