Alex Corlett shoots the breeze about worldwide windy weather
Alex Corlett shares some facts and folklore about the world’s windiest weather patterns.
AS a small island in the North Atlantic, we get our fair share of windy weather. Breezes and storms come and go across our island nation, subject to the Gulf Stream and other fluctuations of weather coming up from the warm south or down from the frigid north.
Surprisingly, though, we only have one named wind in the country – the Helm Wind in Cumbria.
As with the Helm Wind, there are many other winds around the world that are so dramatic and so reliable that they’ve earned their own names.
Often they are surrounded by folklore and revered, or feared, for the effect they have on the people and communities in their path.
The Cape Doctor in
South Africa blows onshore over Cape Town, clearing away humid air and – residents once believed – pestilence.
The Fremantle Doctor in Australia does much the same thing, freshening up onshore air in Western Australia. Supposedly, cricket teams often use this to their advantage, scheduling matches around the wind so it’ll help the bowlers!
Here are some of the world’s other great named winds.