This story originally appeared in the Morning Brief email newsletter. Sign up here to get more stories like this and weekday weather updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.
With Tropical Storm Bret about to move through the Lesser Antilles, you’re probably going to read or hear about the Leeward and Windward Islands in the West Indies. Here’s what those phrases mean.
In this case, it’s connected to sailing. If you’re sailing toward the source of the wind, you’re sailing windward. You’re sailing leeward if you’re going away from the wind’s source. The prevailing winds in the West Indies blow out of the northeast. Ships sailing across the Atlantic from Africa would make their turn west-northwest on the way to the Caribbean. The first islands they would encounter were the ones in the direction from which the wind was blowing, or the Windward Islands. They include Martinique, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Spanish called Puerto Rico and islands to the west, leeward islands. Eventually, the British came along and designated Antigua, Montserrat and islands to the north as the Leeward Islands. That includes the Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Guadeloupe.
Ready To Learn More? Here Are Some Recent Weather Words You May Have Missed:
- Dew Point
- Hotter Than Blue Blazes
- Dolce Far Niente
- Heat Burst
- Near-Surface Smoke
- Spaghetti Models
- Zephyr
You can find our entire archive of Weather Words here.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
