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The bora, along with the sirocco, is the main wind on the Adriatic from September to May. It is a cold and dry wind, blowing from the northeast. It starts suddenly and blows squalls toward the sea.
Generally the bora is created by the atmospheric pressure over Central Europe and over the Mediterranean. However, local boras also exist and are caused by the air cooled above the Karst Valley suddenly pouring down to the sea. These boras are sudden, often violent and short-lived.
There are seven typical bora corridors: Gulf of Trieste, Kvarner, Velebit Channel (especially between the island of Krk and the mainland near Senj), Sibenik, Split-Makarska, Peljesac and Dubrovnik. The bora is strongest in the Velebit Channel and the Gulf of Trieste. It blows with less force along the western coast of Istria, in the Zadar Channel and in the Kornati Archipelago.
The bora generally doesn't create large waves but instead very short, choppy ones. It become gradually less violent as one leaves the eastern coast, but as the wind diminishes the waves become larger. In the summer the bora blows as a local wind and lasts only a few days. In the winter it may continue for a week to two weeks.
Islands without vegetation on the side towards the mainland and coves in which tree trunks grow leaning towards the south are indications that such places are bora prone. They should not be selected for overnight stays if the bora is likely.
An indication that the bora might develop is the formation of a cloud cap over the highest mountain ranges, especially Velebit and Biokovo. If there are cloud formations on the tops and on the slopes on the lee side that move downward and are dispersed in the wind then the bora can be expected at any moment. If the cloud cap continues to increase then the bora is strengthening.
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