harmattan

harmattan

[‚här·mə′tan]

(meteorology)

A dry, dust-bearing wind from the northeast or east which blows in West Africa especially from late November until mid-March; it originates in the Sahara as a desert wind and extends southward to about 5°N in January and 18°N in July. Also spelled harmatan; harmetan; hermitan.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

harmattan

A dry, dusty wind of the west coast of Africa, blowing from the desert.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Harmattan

 

a northeast winter trade wind that blows from the Sahara to the West African coast south of 20° N lat.; it occurs from November through March. The harmattan is extremely dry and often reaches hurricane force. It transports large amounts of dust and sand to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.