The Mediterranean wind rose
In the Mediterranean, each wind direction has had its own name for centuries. In Catalan, starting from the north and going clockwise: tramontana (N), gregal (NE), llevant (E), xaloc (SE), migjorn (S), garbí (SW), ponent (W) and mestral (NW). They are the ones you will see on the wind rose at the top of the page, and the ones fishermen and the coastal forecasts use.
Remember that a wind is named after where it comes from, not where it is going: the llevant blows from the east towards the west.
Offshore wind and onshore wind
Before learning the names, the most useful thing is to know whether the wind comes off the land or off the sea, because they behave very differently:
Offshore wind
Tramontana, mestral, ponent. Close to the coast there are no waves because the wind has no fetch over the sea, so the sea looks calm. But it comes out gusty, funnelling down the valleys, and pushes you out. The further out you go, the more wind and the bigger the sea.
Onshore wind
Llevant, gregal, xaloc, migjorn, garbí. It arrives steadier, but brings the waves it has built up along its fetch. Near the coast and at harbour entrances the sea steepens, and the coast is to leeward: if something goes wrong, the wind carries you onto the rocks.
Tramontana and mestral
They are the two cold, dry northerly winds. They often appear together, when there is high pressure over the Bay of Biscay and a low in the Gulf of Genoa: cold air pours down from France and accelerates through the gaps between the mountains.
- Tramontana (N): it comes out accelerated through the gap between the Pyrenees and the French Massif Central towards the Gulf of Lion. It is the wind of the Empordà and Cap de Creus, where it can blow force 8 or more under a completely blue sky. The further south, the weaker it is.
- Mestral (NW): a relative of the French mistral. In Catalonia it is channelled down the Ebro valley and blows hard over the delta and the Terres de l’Ebre. On the Garraf coast it arrives as a gusty offshore wind.
The danger of both is the same: a sunny day, a flat sea by the beach and the feeling that it is fine to go out. It is the classic trap for a small boat. If the forecast gives a strong tramontana or mestral, the question is not what the sea is like in the harbour, but what it will be like three miles out.
Llevant and gregal: the sea storms
The llevant (E) is the wind of the big storms on the Catalan coast. It appears when there is a low to the south, towards the Balearics, the Alboran Sea or North Africa, and high pressure to the north. It blows over hundreds of miles of open sea, so it raises big waves and drives them straight at the coast. It also brings rain, sometimes very heavy.
The best-remembered case is Storm Gloria in January 2020, which wrecked beaches and seafronts all along the Catalan coast. Llevant storms are most frequent from autumn to spring.
The gregal (NE) is similar: an onshore wind, cool and often wet. In a strong gregal, entering some harbours along the coast becomes tricky because of the waves breaking at the entrance.
The marinada and the summer garbí
From spring to autumn, fine days follow an almost fixed script: a calm morning, then towards midday the land has warmed up more than the sea and the marinada, the sea breeze, starts to come in. It builds through the afternoon and dies away at sunset. On the Barcelona and Garraf coast it usually comes from the south or south-west: this is the garbinada, which in the afternoon can reach 12-15 knots and kick up a short chop.
For learning to sail it is the best wind there is: predictable, mild and with no surprises. That is why most of our summer outings are planned around the time it sets in. To enjoy it without the work, our sunset sailing trips catch exactly the moment the breeze dies away.
Ponent, xaloc and migjorn
- Ponent (W): an offshore wind, dry. In summer it arrives hot from inland and pushes up temperatures on the coast. No waves near the shore, but gusty.
- Xaloc (SE): warm and humid, sometimes with haze. An onshore wind: it brings waves towards the coast.
- Migjorn (S): humid and mild. In summer it mixes with the marinada.
Summer storms and cut-off lows
In late summer and autumn the sea is warm, and all it takes is cold air arriving aloft for very fast-building storms to form. The best known is the gota fría (cut-off low, or DANA). For sailors the problem is not the rain: it is the gusts coming out of the cumulonimbus and sudden wind shifts, which can go from 5 to 35 knots in minutes.
High-resolution models such as AROME and HARMONIE forecast them better than global ones (I explain it in weather models and Windy), but the golden rule is to look at the sky: if you see a cumulonimbus building towards you, reef or drop sail before it arrives. How to recognise one is in the marine weather guide.
When to stay in port
There is no magic number: it depends on the boat, the crew and which way the wind is blowing. As a guide for an 8-10 metre sailing boat with a crew that is still learning:
- Up to force 4 (16 knots): a good day to sail and learn.
- Sustained force 5 (17-21 knots): with reefs and experience, yes; for a trip with people who don’t sail, better not.
- Waves of 2 metres or more (the top of “rough”), an AEMET warning for your area or thunderstorms forecast: postpone.
- Strong offshore wind: more caution than the sea you can see from the harbour suggests.
AEMET issues a coastal warning when it forecasts force 7 or more, seas of 3 metres or more in the Mediterranean, thunderstorms, very heavy rain or visibility under one mile. A warning for your area is a “no”, no discussion.
Where to check the forecast
- AEMET, marine forecast: the official one. The coastal forecast covers up to 20 miles; always check the avisos.
- Meteocat: the Catalan Meteorological Service, which knows the local winds very well.
- Puertos del Estado (Portus): buoys with the real wind and waves off Barcelona and Tarragona.
- Windy: for comparing models. For the coast, AROME and ICON-EU.
- How to read the forecast term by term: how to interpret the marine weather forecast.
Frequently asked questions
What is the marinada?
The sea breeze on the Catalan coast: on fine days, by mid-morning wind starts coming in from the sea towards land, strengthens in the afternoon and dies away at sunset. On the Barcelona and Garraf coast it usually comes from the south or south-west (garbí).
Which wind is the most dangerous on the Catalan coast?
For the sea, the llevant (east wind): it blows over hundreds of miles of open sea and throws big waves against the coast, as in Storm Gloria in January 2020. For a small boat close inshore, the tramontana and the mestral, because they come off the land, look harmless near the beach and push you out to sea.
Why does the tramontana blow so hard in the Empordà?
Because cold air from the north is channelled between the Pyrenees and the French Massif Central and comes out accelerated towards the Gulf of Lion. Cap de Creus is where it is felt most strongly.