Hazard spot
Gulf of Lion: Strong katabatic winds
Gulf of Lion: The mistral drops out of the Rhône valley and reaches full force within hours. The sea turns short and high, and anchored boats drag out of the bay.
- Cause
- Strong katabatic winds
- Main season
- October to March
- Position
- 42° 36,0' N 004° 30,0' E
On the map
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Gulf of Lion: how the place works
The mistral drops out of the Rhône valley and reaches full force on the water within a few hours. It often holds for three days, sometimes a week, and over the shallow gulf it builds a short, high sea that forecasts routinely underestimate. The most dangerous part is the transition from land to water: close inshore it looks calm.
Gulf of Lion: what breaks there
Anchored boats drag out of the bays, and in the marinas from Port Camargue to Marseille lines part. Anyone out in a mistral collects damage to rig and cover, and returning to harbour with the wind on the beam is the real moment of risk.
Gulf of Lion: what this means for your policy
Check whether your policy pays the cost when you take extra securing measures for a forecast mistral and nothing happens. That is not a given, and it is exactly the case that arises here several times a year.
Read this in full: At anchor the policy is awakeCruising range
This spot lies in the cruising range the calculator lists under this step: EU inland waters
Calculate a premium for this cruising rangeNearby
And what applies right now?
This page shows what holds at a spot at any time. Whether an official warning is out for it this minute is on the warning map, by your position and updated hourly.
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