Tramontane is a classical name for a northern wind. The exact
form of the name and precise direction varies from country to country. The word
came to English from Italian tramontana, which developed from Latin trānsmontānus
(trāns- + montānus), "beyond/across
the mountains", referring to the Alps in the North of Italy.
The word has other non-wind-related senses: it can refer to anything that comes from, or anyone who lives on, the other side of mountains, or even more generally, anything seen as foreign, strange, or even barbarous.
The word has other non-wind-related senses: it can refer to anything that comes from, or anyone who lives on, the other side of mountains, or even more generally, anything seen as foreign, strange, or even barbarous.
THE DANGEROUS PLACES: GULF OF LION AND ALT EMPORDÀ
In the zones
of Gulf of Lion and Alt Empordà, the tramontane (named Tramuntana in Catalan) is a strong, dry cold wind from the north
(on the Mediterranean) or from the
northwest (in lower Languedoc, Roussillon, Catalonia and the Balearic
Islands). It is similar to the mistral in its causes and effects, but it
follows a different corridor; the tramontane accelerates as it passes between
the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, while the mistral flows down the Rhone
Valley between the Alps and the Massif Central in France.
The tramontane is
created by the difference of pressure between the cold air of a high pressure system
over the Atlantic Ocean or northwest Europe and a low pressure system over the
Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean. The high-pressure air flows south, gathering
speed as moves downhill and is funnelled between the Pyrenees and the Massif
Central.
According to French sources, the name was used in its present form at
the end of the 13th century by Marco
Polo, in 1298. It was borrowed
from the Latin "transmontanus" and the Italian
"tramontana", meaning not just "across the mountains" but
also "the North Star" (literally the star "above the
mountains"), since the Alps marked the north for the Italic people. The
French term tresmontaine, cited as early as 1209 and still used in the 15th
century, was borrowed directly from the Latin.
More information: NASA Weather
Le vent qui vient à travers la
montagne me rendra fou.
The wind coming over the mountain will
drive me mad.
Victor Hugo, Gastibelza
No comments:
Post a Comment