Sirocco wind

The sirocco wind or jaloque (or xaloc in Catalan) is a southeasterly wind typical of the Mediterranean. It usually comes from the Sahara desert and enters at speeds similar to those of hurricanes. It usually affects mainly the areas of North Africa and southern Europe. For this reason, in fact, the sirocco wind of the desert is also often called in some places.

The sirocco wind is born from a mass of tropical, dry and warm air, that travels towards the north due to the movement of the low pressures towards the east, when they cross over the Mediterranean. The dry continental air then mixes with the moisture from the maritime cyclone and the low pressures push the air towards the coasts of southern Europe.

It usually carries dust from the Sahara and is often accompanied by heavy storms and rain for several days. In North Africa, the sirocco wind causes drought, while in the Mediterranean and southern Europe it brings storms and humidity. The sirocco wind can reach speeds of up to 100 km per hour and are frequent, especially at season changes, in spring and autumn.

As we have seen, this wind is typical of the Mediterranean, but in the Atlantic it also forms in the Atlantic reaching the Canary Islands where instead of being called the sirocco wind, fans of sailing sports know it as calima . In the Atlantic it is more common during the winter months and reduces visibility due to the load of sand it carries in its path. In the Canary Islands, due to its orography, there can also be mist, which reduces visibility.

The sirocco wind is one of the winds that works best for water sports, especially during the months of June and July. It is one of the favorite winds for windsurfers, especially on the coasts from the east, on the beaches of Murcia. You can also surf in August and some days in September, but there it is more difficult to get the right power so it will depend largely on luck.

If we are on the eastern coast, it is important to know the direction of the wind more than the force, which has to be East, because whether it is ESE or ENE, it does not take the sail well and does not push what we need to be able to practice our favorite sport.

Due to the sand and the mist that it can cause, in the Canary Islands it is important to know well those beaches with stones and steep places because if we go surfing with a sirocco wind we will see that visibility is reduced considerably.

As for the sails, we will need medium or large sails to take advantage of the sirocco wind and that it enters well, from 5.3 up, generally 5.8 or 6.0. This will allow us to do different types of tricks with less effort.

When talking about the winds, it is important to emphasize that, although these are the general characteristics, the sirocco wind from the desert can have some particularity depending on the beach we are on, since We already know that the mountains and coves have an extremely important influence and can help us to practice our favorite sport if we know all these little details in depth.