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{{Short description|Strong, dry north winds of the Aegean Sea}}
The '''etesians''' ({{IPAc-en|ᵻ|ˈ|t|iː|ʒ|ən|z}} or {{IPAc-en|ᵻ|ˈ|t|iː|z|i|ə|n|z}}; {{langx|grc|ἐτησίαι|etēsiai|periodic winds}};<ref>Anomalous, plural number form only, [[nominative case]] in -''{{lang|grc|αι}}'', [[grammatical gender|masculine gender]] noun or adjective; attested with or without {{lang|grc|ἄνεμοι}} ''anemoi'', "winds"; its [[genitive case]] form is {{lang|grc|ἐτησίων}} etēsiōn; [[cf.]] {{lang|grc|ἐτήσιος}} ''etēsios'', "annual". See {{LSJ|e)thsi/ai|ἐτησίαι}}, {{LSJ|e)th/sios|ἐτήσιος|ref}}.</ref> sometimes found in the [[Latin language|Latin]] form '''etesiae'''), '''meltemia''' ({{langx|el|μελτέμια}}; pl. of {{lang|el|μελτέμι}} '''meltemi'''), or '''meltem''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]) are the strong, dry north winds of the [[Aegean Sea]], which blow periodically from about mid-May to mid-September. The Etesian winds are a dominant weather influence in the Aegean Basin.
They are at their strongest in the afternoon and often die down at night, but sometimes etesian winds last for days without a break. Similar winds blow in the [[Adriatic]] and [[Ionian Sea|Ionian]] regions. Etesian winds are dangerous to [[sailor]]s because they come up in clear weather without warning and can blow at force 7–8 on the [[Beaufort scale]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://everything2.com/index.pl?node=meltemi|title=meltemi - Everything2.com|website=everything2.com|access-date=2020-03-12}}</ref> Some [[yacht]]s and most inter-island [[ferry|ferries]] cannot sail under such conditions.  However, they often provide a good, steady [[sailing]] wind favored by leisure sailors.
The word ''etesian'' ultimately derives from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang|grc|ἔτος}} ''etos'' "year",<ref>{{cite book|title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek|chapter=[[s.v.]] ἔτος|first=Robert|last=Beekes|authorlink=Robert S. P. Beekes|others=With the assistance of Lucien van Beek|year=2010|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004174184}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|e)/tos1|ἔτος|shortref}}.</ref> connoting the yearly fluctuation in frequency of appearance of these winds. Etesians have been described since ancient times; their Turkish and the Modern Greek names are probably a [[loanword|loan]] from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''mal tempo'' 'bad weather'.<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]]</ref> Though it is sometimes called a [[monsoon]] wind, the meltemi is dry and does not correspond to an opposite wind in the winter. However, the etesians are distantly correlated with the summer monsoons of the Indian subcontinent, as it is a [[Trough (meteorology)|trough]] of low pressure into the Eastern Mediterranean region that enforces, if not causes, the etesians to blow in summer.
Etesians are due chiefly to the deep continental depression centered over southwest Asia and blow from a direction which may be anywhere between north-east and north-west depending on local topography; etesian winds weather is ordinarily fine and clear, the northerly winds tempering the, at times, fierce summer heat of the region.
In the Northern Aegean sea, the etesians blow as winds of northeasterly to northerly direction. Moving south, in the central Aegean, they blow as winds of northerly direction, while in the southern Aegean, the Cretan and the Carpathian sea, they blow as northwesterlies. The same winds blow in [[Cyprus]] as westerlies to southwesterlies, being more humid.
Historically, [[Philip II of Macedon]] timed his military operations so that powerful southern fleets could not reach him: their ships could sail north only very slowly while the etesian winds were blowing.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}
==See also==
*[[List of local winds]]
*[[Bora (wind)]]
*[[Gregale]]
*[[Khamaseen]]
*[[Llevantades]]
*[[Leveche]]
*[[Marin (wind)]]
*[[Mistral (wind)]]
*[[Sirocco]]
==References==
* C.Michael Hogan. 2011. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Aegean_Sea?topic=49523 ''Aegean Sea''. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC]
* [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] online, 2007
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.sailingissues.com/greek/meltemi.html Etesian winds - SailingIssues]
*[http://ggweather.com/winds.html Name of Winds]
[[Category:Winds]]
[[Category:Sailing]]
[[Category:Climate of Greece]]