Names for the Wind

Life In Germany... Life In Bolivia...

In Germany, a strong cold wind from the northeast was called a Siberian. (That is, it was called a German word that translates as Siberian.)

In Bolivia, a strong cold wind from the Antarctic was called a surazo but that word didn't make the following list of names for winds at Wikipedia. The word was probably brought to Bolivia by Spanish settlers as sirocco.

And many of us know that, "...they call the wind Maria!" (pronounced Mariah, rhyming with pariah, and I think the original artist was Vaughn Monroe.)

Maria blows the stars around and sets the clouds a-flyin'.
Maria makes the mountains sound like folks was out there dyin'.

Maria. (Maria).
Maria. (Maria).
They call the wind Maria.

But enough with sing-alongs. Let's get back to the list of names for the wind...

• Abroholos (squall frequent wind that occurs from May through August between Cabo de Sao Tome and Cabo Frio on the coast of Brazil)
• Alizé (northeasterly across central Africa and the Caribbean)
• Alizé Maritime (a wet, fresh northerly wind across west central Africa)
• Amihan (northeasterly wind across the Philippines)
• Bayamo (a violent wind on Cuba's southern coast)
• Bora (northeasterly from eastern Europe to northeastern Italy)
• Chinook (warm dry westerly off the Rocky Mountains)
• Etesian (Greek name) or Meltemi (Turkish name) (northerly across Greece and Turkey)
• Föhn (warm dry southerly off the northern side of the Alps and the North Italy)
• Fremantle Doctor (afternoon sea breeze from the Indian Ocean which cools Perth, Western Australia during summer)
• Gilavar (south wind in the Absheron Peninsula)
• Gregale (northeasterly from Greece)
• Habagat (southwesterly wind across the Philippines)
• Harmattan (dry northerly wind across central Africa)
• Halny (in northern Carpathians)
• Khamsin (southeasterly from north Africa to the eastern Mediterranean)
• Khazri (cold north wind in the Absheron Peninsula)
• Kosava (strong and cold southeasterly season wind in Serbia)
• Levanter (easterly through Strait of Gibraltar)
• Libeccio (southwesterly towards Italy)
• Marin (south-easterly from Mediterranean to France)
• Minuano (southern Brazil)
• Mistral (cold northerly from central France and the Alps to Mediterranean)
• Nor'easter (a strong storm with winds from the northeast in the eastern United States, especially New England)
• Nor'wester (A wind that brings rain to the West Coast of New Zealand, and warm dry winds (and bad tempers for some) to the East Coast of New Zealand.)
• Pampero, (Argentina), (very strong blows in the PAMPA)
• Santa Ana winds (southern California)
• 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)
• Solano This is another name for the Levanter
• Southerly Buster (rapidly arriving low pressure cell that dramatically cools Sydney, Australia during summer)
• Tramontane (cold northwesterly from the Pyrenees or northeasterly from the Alps to the Mediterranean, similar to Mistral)
• Vendavel (westerly through Strait of Gibraltar)
• Zonda wind (on the eastern slope of the Andes in Argentina)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind