A strong, cold, northwesterly wind that funnels down the Rhone Valley in southern France toward the Mediterranean coast, generated by the pressure difference between a high-pressure system over the Bay of Biscay and low pressure over the Gulf of Genoa, accelerated further as it is channeled between the Alps and the Massif Central. The mistral can blow for days at a stretch with gusts exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, and its clearing, dust-scouring effect on the sky was celebrated by Provencal painters for the crisp light it leaves behind.
Facts
PeriodicityMost common in winter and spring, strongest at the transition between the two seasons, and can last from one or two days up to more than a week. 1 ScaleProduces sustained winds averaging 50 km/h, sometimes reaching 100 km/h, and can exceed 90 km/h in the Rhone Valley. 1 First DescribedArchaeological excavations at the Terra Amata site in Nice show that as early as about 40,000 BC inhabitants built a low wall to protect their fire from the mistral. 1 Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceThe clarity of air and light produced by the mistral is one of the features that attracted French Impressionist painters. 1 Sources
1. Mistral (wind), Wikipedia
Lead section
It is most common in the winter and spring, and strongest in the transition between the two seasons.
In Provencal culture section
showed that in about 40,000 B.C. the inhabitants had built a low wall of rocks and beach stones to the northwest of their fireplace to protect their fire from the power of the mistral
Effects section
This clarity of the air and light is one of the features that attracted many French impressionist and post-impressionist artists to the South of France.
Lead section [scale]
It produces sustained winds averaging 50 km/h (30 mph), sometimes reaching 100 km/h (60 mph).
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