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le vent rentre

English translation: As I understand it

12:20 Jan 4, 2011
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Science - Meteorology / cumulus clouds / thermals
French term or phrase: le vent rentre
I'm sure this is easy if you're in the know, but "rentrer" seems to cover just about everything that relates to wind: I've seen it used on the web in places where it seems to mean simply blow, or strengthen, or change direction, or (re-)arrive, ...

Perhaps someone could help to define the exact meaning in two sentences (separated by a few lines but basically about the same bit of sky) talking about wind conditions suitable for paragliding in a mountainous area, being described with the help of pictures.

The first is definitely talking about a change in the wind, rather than just that it's blowing, and this is causing two adjoining cumuli to start drifting in different directions:
Par ailleurs, ces deux cumulus fusionnent en une seule masse d’où une possible confluence des thermiques C et D. Peut être aussi que la brise du lac commence à ** rentrer ** par Thônes (à droite) ce qui dévie le flux d’air du cumulus D.

In the second, it could mean just that it starts/arrives in the afternoon, presumably due to the effect of the sun on the lake:
Brise de vallée montante en matinée, avant une inversion de sens lorsque la brise du lac d’Annecy (à l’arrière droite de la photo) ** rentrera.**
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 11:43
English translation:As I understand it
Explanation:
albeit without the photos, in the first case the wind (or at least A wind - there could be several, at different levels, in different places), more precisely here the "lake breeze", is coming back down (to the lake) from Thônes. I know it is odd to refer to a lake wind as one coming down from a higher altitude, but as the second instance suggests, the air that goes up the valley in the morning is considered to be the same air (personified, in a way) that comes down the valley later in the day, so is therefore the same brise du lac. Thônes is a couple of hundred metres higher than the lake, and it is possible that the brise is deemed to rise even higher up the valley then rentrer par Thônes on its way back to the lake.

In the second case the brise is confirmed as "returning whence it came".

When you camp out at the top of a valley you'll find a strong wind comes up to you from downhill in the morning. Basically the sun hits the mountain tops first, warming up the rock and soil and causing air to rise, which pulls the air up from the valley below. In the evening, the wind "returns" back down the valley as the mountain tops cool down and the air falls back down.
Selected response from:

Bourth (X)
Local time: 12:43
Grading comment
Thanks, everyone, particularly Bourth. I've discovered a section further on in the text where it explains this daily reversal of wind between lake and mountain.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4when the wind starts to blow in from T or A
polyglot45
4the wind will begin to make a comeback through
Barbara Cochran, MFA
4the wind picks up
cc in nyc
3As I understand it
Bourth (X)


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
when the wind starts to blow in from T or A


Explanation:
the verb doesn't mean to change direction as such. It is just that the wind will rise or rises over the lake and starts to blow in from that direction

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-01-04 13:21:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

par usually would mean via - I'd have to check the local geography to suggest anything different

polyglot45
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
Notes to answerer
Asker: That's helpful, thanks but I do have a supplementary question relating to "par". The place being discussed is Mt Tournette, halfway between the lake and Thônes. Could "par" mean towards here?

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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
As I understand it


Explanation:
albeit without the photos, in the first case the wind (or at least A wind - there could be several, at different levels, in different places), more precisely here the "lake breeze", is coming back down (to the lake) from Thônes. I know it is odd to refer to a lake wind as one coming down from a higher altitude, but as the second instance suggests, the air that goes up the valley in the morning is considered to be the same air (personified, in a way) that comes down the valley later in the day, so is therefore the same brise du lac. Thônes is a couple of hundred metres higher than the lake, and it is possible that the brise is deemed to rise even higher up the valley then rentrer par Thônes on its way back to the lake.

In the second case the brise is confirmed as "returning whence it came".

When you camp out at the top of a valley you'll find a strong wind comes up to you from downhill in the morning. Basically the sun hits the mountain tops first, warming up the rock and soil and causing air to rise, which pulls the air up from the valley below. In the evening, the wind "returns" back down the valley as the mountain tops cool down and the air falls back down.

Bourth (X)
Local time: 12:43
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 10
Grading comment
Thanks, everyone, particularly Bourth. I've discovered a section further on in the text where it explains this daily reversal of wind between lake and mountain.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks Bourth. That makes some sense. I'm glad I asked as it looks as though I had the winds out by 180°!

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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the wind will begin to make a comeback through


Explanation:
HTH

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 06:43
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Catherine Gilsenan: Never heard wind described thus
1 day 1 hr
  -> Any on-the-air meteorologist that has a literary bent would describe it this way.
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20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the wind picks up


Explanation:
Pick up in the sense of accelerate or gain speed. See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pick definition 35(i).

Example sentence(s):
  • Now (07.17) we are about to drive up to the mountain to see if we can fly before the forecasted wind picks up again.
  • Everyone wants to get in the air before the valley wind picks up during the afternoon.

    Reference: http://waterglobe.blogspot.com/2010/05/first-day-on-safetty-...
    Reference: http://www.stevenroti.com/gallery/euro2000/index.html
cc in nyc
Local time: 06:43
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
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