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Port of Zadar (Croatia) - Port Information (ID: 35463)
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Zadar, Croatia Zadar, Croatia Croatia Zadar Port Information Selections Passenger Port Map - Luka Zadar Commercial Port Map - Luka Gazenica Geographic Location Harbor as Haven Currents and Tides Visibility Hazardous Conditions Spring Summer Autumn Winter Protective/Mitigating Measures Moving to a New Anchorage Sortie/Remain in Port Scheduling Harbor Protection Local Hazardous Weather Conditions Wind Chill Table Heat Index Table Return To Ports List June, 1999 Zadar Area Map Passenger Port Map Commercial Port Map Geographic Geographic Location Coordinates: 44° 07'N, 15° 14'E Zadar is located on the eastern Adriatic coast about 65 nm northwest of Split, Croatia. Zadar lies on a flat, low elevation region, some distance from higher terrain of the Dinaric Alps. As a result, unlike many other coastal Croatian cities, effects of the bora winds are very weak in the local area. The passenger port on the north side of the city (Luka Zadar) is used by the U. S. Navy for small boat entry and as a convenient location for Fleet Landing. Larger U. S. vessels cannot enter this harbor which has a busy schedule for arrivals and departures of ferries and cruise ships. The landing at Luka Zadar offers immediate access to the major features of the city, including remarkably preserved historical structures of the Roman period dating back to 1000 AD and earlier. The Port Authority and the Harbor Master have offices on the south side of the port near the harbors entrance. The commercial port, Luka Gazenica, is located on the coast about 2.5 nm SE of Zadar. This is the principle port used by the U. S. Navy for docking larger vessels, destroyers and frigates. The port has a wide entrance of about 215 m, open to the west. Navy ships normally tie up on the north side of the port in water depths of about 8.5 m. The northeastern portion of the harbor (sloping from NW to SE) has depths of 7.5 m in the northern half and 5.9 m in the southern half. Depths along the general cargo pier vary from 10 m dropping off to 13 m near the end of the pier. Navy ships can use these alternate locations for docking purposes, as available, water depth requirements permitting. On the southern side of the general cargo pier is another docking area used for off-loading bulk cargo and grain. Dangerous cargo is off-loaded on the extreme southernmost pier. Anchorage locations for both ports is in Zadarski Kanal, which lies between the mainland and Ugljan Island. This island is oriented NW-SE, paralleling the coastline for several miles, about 2 - 4 nm offshore from the mainland. Anchorage for ships intending to send small boats into Luka Zadar can be obtained immediately WSW of the harbor about 1 nm offshore, at depths ranging from 37 to 41 m. A dangerous cargo anchorage is located approximately 2 nm NW of this area. Anchorage for the commercial port (Luka Gazenica) is SW of the harbor entrance, 0.5 to 1 nm offshore, in water depths ranging from 15 to 22 m. Holding in mud and sand is considered very good at both anchorage locations. Ship entry to Zadar through Pasmanski Kanal, SE of the city, and through any of the other southern approaches, is prohibited. The approved entry is from the northwest, through Silbanski Kanal (vicinity 44° 24'N, 14° 36'E), the channel lying between Silba Island and Premuda Island. Both bora and scirocco effects are felt strongly at the northern entrance to Silbanski Kanal, west of Premuda Island, where heavy seas are encountered during such events. However, upon entering the channel, heading southeast, Premuda Island offers protection against the scirocco. Sea state is rapidly reduced in this area. U. S. Naval vessels normally request pilot boarding prior to entering Silbanski Kanal, especially during bora or scirocco wind conditions. In Virsko More, heading southeast toward Zadar, an area especially susceptible to strong bora winds is south of Vir Island, where a gap appears between this island and the mainland. Under fair weather conditions, the pilot boards most vessels entering the passenger port (Luka Zadar) 2 - 4 miles NW of the city of Zadar. For ships entering the commercial port (Luka Gazenica), the pilot boarding area is about 1 mile due west of the port area. Pilots are available for boarding 24 hours a day, given 24 hours prior notice. Two tugs are available locally at Zadar. Additional tugs can be ordered from Split, if required. Tugs normally join the ship close to the harbor's entrance, using the towed vessel's hawsers. Harbor As Haven Harbor As Haven Luka Zadar, at times during the autumn, winter and spring, experiences weak northeasterly bora wind effects. This can create a problem for small boats entering or leaving the harbor. However, these effects are usually well forecast and short-lived. The scirocco is more of a problem at Luka Zadar during the same period because of the strength and duration of such winds, creating a heavy swell at the anchorage location. The harbor is well protected from this wind; however, small boats may not be able to return to the anchorage location for extended periods if scirocco winds occur while they are in harbor. During the late spring and early summer, on rare occasions, violent NNW squalls can cause rough seas in the harbor of Luka Zadar near Fleet Landing. Small boats can move further southeastward in the port, past the Harbor Master's office, for more protection from this effect. These squalls are usually associated with cold frontal passage, preceded by a rise in relative humidity, and drop in pressure. The duration of such events is quite brief, but care should be exercised in dispensing small boats to the harbor when frontal passage is anticipated. Luka Gazenica is sheltered from both the bora and the scirocco. However, the port is open to the west and can experience elevated sea state on the north side of the port, where U. S. Naval vessels tie up, when southwesterly lebic winds, associated with low pressure and/or frontal passage, occur. This condition is usually brief, lasting only a few hours, and poses no hazard to ships tied up at the port with appropriate fender protection. It may also be possible for Navy ships to move to the general cargo pier to minimize lebic effects if severity is pronounced or duration is forecast to be prolonged. Currents and Tides Currents and Tides Currents are negligible within both Luka Zadar and Luka Gazenica. Tidal range in the region is from 60 cm to an extreme of 70 cm. Within Zadarski Kanal currents vary as a function of the tidal change, going from SW at high tide, to NW at low tide. The NW flow is strongest, with normal speed of 1 kt increasing to 1 ½ to 2 kt during strong southeasterly winds of the jugo or scirocco. Seiches are unpredictable, but dramatic instances of such phenomena have occurred along the Croatian coast. In September 1977 a meteorologically-induced seiche occurred at Stari Grad, on the island of Hvar, about 80 nm southeast of Zadar. At this location the water level fell suddenly by more than 2 m, rising a few minutes later by 2.7 m. Visibility Visibility Visibility is never a problem for ships in the immediate vicinity of Zadar and neither Luka Zadar or Luka Gazenica have ever been forced to close because of this factor. Fog tends to occur along the coastal waters more frequently in the spring and in the fall, but is never severe. Inland, however, because of the low elevation, sometimes swampy environment, ground fog can result in near "zero/zero" conditions. The airport at Zadar is sometimes closed for a few hours in the morning because of this effect. Poorer visibility is also sometimes experienced, primarily in early morning hours, in the islands off-shoreof Zadar. Fog may be very dense at times, but normally improves rapidly as the morning progresses. Spring Spring Zadar, unlike many other locations along the Croatian coast, does not experience severe effects of bora winds. This is primarily a result of the local, low lying, topography, with no mountains in the immediate vicinity. Luka Gazenica experiences no bora effects and Luka Zadar only weak effects of bora winds. The jugo or scirocco, however, blows fiercely in Zadarski Kanal, raising high seas at the designated anchorage locations. Movement of the ship across Zadarski Kanal for anchorage as close to Ugljan Island as possible can provide some protection from these effects. The jugo or scirocco is a south to southeasterly wind which affects Zadar during the spring, having a peak frequency in March and November. The jugo is generally not a scirocco, although the terms are oftenused interchangeably. The term "jugo" is applied to southerly winds that occur in advance of a low moving across the northern Adriatic. Only when this low expands adequately to draw dry and dusty air from North Africa into the Adriatic does the term "scirocco" really apply. The jugo can be as as dangerous as the bora, and particularly affects anchorages in Zadarski Kanal, where winds of 40 - 50 kt (20.6 -25.7 ms-¹), and seas raised to 3 -4 m are not uncommon. Unlike the bora, the winds and seas during a jugo build gradually, in a predictable fashion, and there is usually adequate time to take defensive measures. The winds of a "severe" jugo having speeds of greater than 34 kt (17.5 ms-¹) last only about 5 hours, buton exception, can extend to 25 hours. Strong jugos with winds from 21 -34 kt (10.8 - 17.5 ms-¹) have an average duration of 19 hours, and with exception to 36 hours. The highest mean hourly wind speed for a jugo, based on data over the Adriatic from 1958-1987, was 53 kt (27.3 ms-¹). This occurred on 21 March 1971. It is often observed at Zadar, and other locations along the Croatian coast, that there can be a rapid change from strong southeasterly winds (jugo) to equally strong northeasterly winds (bora) in as little as one hour. This is a natural consequence of an intense low pressure system moving rapidly southeastward through the region. The lebic often follows the jugo in springtime as a violent southwesterly wind in most regions along the Croatian coast. Wave action is somewhat heightened in Luka Gazenica when such winds occur along the north pier of the port, where U. S. vessels tie up. Luka Zadar is completely protected from lebic wind and sea state effects. The lebic occurs as a low pressure center moves on a track across the northern Adriatic, north of Zadar. The changing wind direction from SE to S to SW does produce choppy seas at the anchorage locations in Zadarski Kanal, which can pose problems for small boats arriving or departing the anchorage area. The tramontana, a sometimes violent wind from the NNW, can raise sea height at the entrance to Luka Zadar. Tramontana squalls are usually associated with cold frontal passage, preceded by a rise in relative humidity, and drop in pressure. The duration of such events is quite brief, but care should be exercised in dispensing small boats to the harbor when frontal passage is anticipated. Small boats within the harbor can move further southeastward in the port, past the Harbor Master's office, for more protection from this effect. Thunderstorms sometimes occur during springtime at Zadar, as dry, cool air, swinging around a low to the north, encounters a current of warm, moist air, flowing northward over the Adriatic from the south. The condition commonly is facilitated by upper level divergence, found in advance of an upper level trough. Summer Summer The summer season produces generally fair weather for Zadar. For weeks at a time weather maybe calm, as on a protected lake. The generally hot and humid conditions are relieved by the northwesterly maestral (mistral) wind, which is the dominant wind of summer. The maestral in the Adriatic has been defined as the superposition and enhancement of the etesian (a northerly wind) by the sea breeze. The maestral is a gentle breeze of 3 - 10 kt (1.5 - 5 ms-¹), normally starting by 1000 or 1100 local time and lasting until 1500 or 1600 in the afternoon. Despite the light intensity, a choppy sea condition is sometimes produced that can adversely affect small boating. Onshore the maestral is welcomed for some relief of the hot and humid conditions that generallyprevail. Maestral winds quickly diminish after sunset, becoming calm during the evening, and by early morning an offshore northeasterly flow (land breeze) develops, lasting until about 0800 local time. The jugo is occasionally evident during summer, but the intensity is weak and duration only a fewhours so that little problem is posed for boating. The tramontana, a sometimes violent wind from the NNW, can raise sea height at the entrance to Luka Zadar. Tramontana squalls are usually associated with cold frontal passage, preceded by a rise in relative humidity, and drop in pressure. The duration of such events is quite brief, but care should be exercised in dispensing small boats to the harbor when frontal passage is anticipated. Small boats within the harbor can move further southeastward in the port, past the Harbor Master's office, for more protection from this effect Autumn Autumn Quiet summer conditions generally prevail through the months of September and October astemperatures begin to moderate. Jugo and bora wind events occur infrequently, most of them lastingless than 5 hours. The lebic, a southwest wind, also occurs during October, usually following a jugo. The rapidly changing wind direction in a lebic, from SE to S to SW, frequently causes confused, choppy, sea state that can be dangerous for small boats attempting to load or offload personnel at either of the anchorages in Zadarski Kanal. In the month of November, Zadar experiences the second peak frequency (first in March) of severe jugo wind conditions. A severe jugo implies S - SE winds with intensity of greater than 34 kt (17.5 ms-¹) for at least one hour. Jugo conditions, because of the long fetch, can produce very significant swell, with maximum wave heights exceeding 10 m. Winds and swell are best developed over the open sea and coastal island channels, such as Zadarski Kanal, where U. S. Navy ships anchor for entry into Zadar. Strong bora wind conditions (20 -34 kt, 10.3 -17.5 ms-¹ ) are not experienced in the ports and anchorage locations for Zadar. However, they do occur north of Zadar on the south side of Vir Island, and south of Zadar near the southern end of Pasman Island. Ships departing Zadar heading toward Silbanski Kanal should be aware of the potential for severe bora effects, starting near the central portion of Virsko More, in line with the southern coast of Vir Island. The strong bora is normally experienced near (but not in) Zadar a couple of times during the month of November. On rarer occasions the severe bora occurs, with winds in excess of 34 kt (17.5ms-¹). Winter Winter Easterly to northeasterly winds predominate during the winter season, reflecting a high frequency ofbora events along the Croatian coast. January has the highest annual relative frequency of severe bora winds (mean hourly wind speed > 34 kt; 17.5 ms -¹) and the highest relative frequency of number of hours with the severe bora. However, these effects are experienced only weakly at Zadar, due to the flat topography in the area and the fact that mountains, instrumental in producing such effects, are some distance away. The jugo or scirocco and lebic also have a high frequency during the winter season, and these do raise high seas at anchorage locations in Zadarski Kanal. The winds of a "severe" jugo having speeds of greater than 34 kt (17.5 ms-¹) last only about 5 hours, but on exception, can extend to 25 hours. Strong jugos with winds from 21 -34 kt (10.8 - 17.5 ms-¹) have an average duration of 19 hours, and with exception to 36 hours. The highest mean hourly wind speed for a jugo in the Adriatic, based on data from 1958-1987, was 53 kt (27.3 ms-¹). This occurred on 21 March 1971. Despite the above information concerning high winds, it is important to realize that there are winter periods when high pressure dominates the region, and seas can be essentially calm for periods of several weeks. It is also a statistical fact that the dominant wind speed in the region during winter is 34 kt; 17.5 ms-¹) is greatest. An alternate potential for ships, who may desire to "ride out" the jugo, is to move to an anchorage position off the north coast of Ugljan Island, as close to shore as possible. Water is deep, even very near the shore of the island. The island provides protection from southerly winds, and there are a number of bays that may offer protection, also, if the wind is from the southeast. Sortie/Remain in Port Sortie/Remain in Port The commercial port (Luka Gazenica) at Zadar is considered a safe haven for any of the most adverseweather conditions that affect the region. Pier locations closer to the southern side of the port are less subject to southwesterly lebic effects than the usual Navy docking location on the north side of the port. The passenger port (Luka Zadar) is protected from both the bora and jugo (scirocco) winds. However, small boats within the port may not be able to return to anchorage for several hours when a strong or severe jugo is affecting the region. Scheduling Scheduling Late spring, summer, and early fall, is the best period to consider anchorage for small boat entry into Luka Zadar or Luka Gazenica. Seas are frequently placid during this period. The northwesterly maestral winds, prevalent during the summer, are often enhanced by the sea breeze during the afternoon hours to speeds of 10 kt (5 ms-¹) or higher. For this reason small boat entry into both the passenger port (Luka Zadar) and the commercial/military port (Luka Gazenica) is more safely conducted during the early morning hours, with return to anchorage positions near sunset or later, when calmer conditions normally prevail. The morning hours are regarded as the optimum time for ship arrival or departure from Luka Gazenica. Late fall, winter, and early spring, are months when weather problems are more likely to occur. Thejugo or scirocco adversely affects anchorage positions in Zadarski Kanal. Movement to a pier location within Luka Gazenica is preferable to an anchorage position during this period. Harbor Protection Harbor Protection Wind and Weather: The passenger port (Luka Zadar) is protected from the bora, jugo (scirocco), and lebic. The only wind that sometimes causes problems near the port entrance is the tramontana. This wind comes from the NNW and usually occurs in late spring or in the summer. Small boats within the harbor can move further southeastward in the port, past the Harbor Master's office, for more protection from this effect. Luka Gazenica is protected from both the bora and jugo (scirocco). A few times a year (late fall, winter, early spring) strong southwesterly winds (lebic) enter the port region. This condition is normally short-lived and over in less than 4 -5 hours. This wind chiefly affects the north pier where U. S. Naval vessels normally tie up. Usually effects are not severe enough to warrant a change in ship position. Waves: Under strong southwesterly winds, waves of about 1 m can move through the entrance to Luka Gazenica and impact on the north pier. The condition is short-lived and usually not severe enough to warrant a change in the ships position. However, much of the harbor is protected from such winds so that, when effects are severe, it is possible to move vessels to the southern side of the port for greater protection. The tramontana, a wind from the NNW sometimes affects wave height at the entrance to Luka Zadar, creating problems for small boats attempting to land or debark. Small boats within the harbor can move further southeastward in the port, past the Harbor Master's office, for more protection from this effect. Local Hazardous Weather Conditions Local Hazardous Weather Conditions Warning information. Weather forecasts for the Adriatic coast are prepared by the Marine Meteorological Center in Split. These are updated throughout the day and broadcast periodically in Croatian, English, French, German, and Italian. Forecasts in English are broadcast at 0700, 1100, and 1800, local time. Reception of such forecasts is generally on VHF channels 4 and 7. If difficulty is encountered, the Harbor Master's office may be contacted on channel 16 for the most recent information, and possible channel changes. NAVTEX marine weather forecasts are also available. The Harbor Master's office also receives daily, via facsimile from Split, a one page summary of weather information, including a synoptic surface chart, valid for 0300 local, specific port warnings in effect, a 3-day outlook, and local weather conditions for 14 ports along the Croatian coast. This report is sent separately to each major port subscribing to the service. 24 hour forecasts are considered quite accurate, employing the latest techniques in mesoscale modeling. The three most severe wind systems affecting the Zadar region are the jugo, or scirocco, the bora, and the lebic. The jugo or scirocco adversely affects anchorage locations in Zadarski Kanal and raises sea height in Virsko More. The passenger port (Luka Zadar) is well-protected from all three of these winds. The commercial port (Luka Gazenica) is also protected against the jugo (scirocco) and the bora, but experiences some effects of the lebic. Ships at anchor in Zadarski Kanal should consider moving to a pier location within Luka Gazenica when jugo or sirocco winds are experienced or are forecast. An alternate potential for ships who may desire to "ride out" the jugo, is to move to an anchorage position off the north coast of Ugljan Island, as close to shore as possible. Water is deep, even very near the shore of the island. The island provides protection from southerly winds, and there are a number of bays that may offer protection, also, if the wind is from the southeast. Bora winds occur only weakly in the ports and anchorage locations for Zadar and do not pose a weather problem for ships at those locations. The lebic often follows the jugo in springtime as a violent southwesterly wind in most regions along the Croatian coast. Wave action is somewhat heightened in Luka Gazenica when such winds occur along the north pier of the port, where U. S. vessels tie up. Luka Zadar is completely protected from lebic wind and sea state effects. The lebic occurs as a low pressure center moves on a track across the northern Adriatic, north of Zadar. The changing wind direction from SE to S to SW does produce choppy seas at the anchorage locations in Zadarski Kanal, which can pose problems for small boats arriving or departing the anchorage area. The bora causes problems only for ships enroute to Zadar through Virsko More. Ships should be especially alert to a notorious strong bora region at the latitude of the southern end of Vir Island. Here the the bora funnels through valley regions as a mountain gap wind. Local fisherman and boat owners watch for signs of a transition to white, foam-covered water ahead, and take appropriate precautionary measures (stopping, coming in closer to shore, etc.). The jugo is commonly terminated and followed by southwesterly winds called lebic. The suddenchange from SE to S to SW, as low pressure, responsible for such winds, moves eastward, produces choppy, confused seas, and is especially dangerous for small boating. Many accidents involving broken arms and legs, while attempting to embark or debark into small boats, have occurred under such conditions. The southwesterly lebic sometimes affects the commercial port (Luka Gazenica), mainly at the northern pier where U. S. Naval vessels tie up. Although winds can be fairly strong, wave height is not much of a problem because of the limited fetch provided in Zadarski Kanal. Ships can move to the south side of the port for greater protection. Fortunately, the lebic, as a strong wind, normally only occurs only 1 or 2 times a year, and its duration is short, with seas abating rapidly in the aftermath. Statistics show two peak periods for jugo or scirocco winds, March and November, with very fewoccurrences during the summer. The average duration of the jugo (based on statistics from 1958-1987) was about 36 hours; however, severe wind strength (> 34 kt; 17.5 ms-¹) normally was sustained for only 5 hours. The winds are best developed over the open seas and island regions, and in the Adriatic, have reached a maximum hourly wind speed of 53 kt (27.3 ms-¹). The scirocco, which taps dry, dusty, air from N. Africa, generally occurs in two phases. The first phase, called "fresh", "new", or "clear", scirocco, is denoted by a gradual strengthening of the wind, and a rise in water level, noticeable at port locations . Skies remain clear during this phase. Local fisherman take these conditions during winter and spring as enough of a sign of deteriorating weather conditions to return to port. The second phase occurs as winds continue to increase and clouds are observed, gradually moving over the area from the south. Light to moderate rain often accompanies the strong sustained winds of the second phase, leaving a dusty residue over exposed outside objectsin the aftermath. Sea height builds gradually during scirocco conditions, reaching extremes of over10 m in the open sea regions. During bora conditions sustained winds of 20 - 34 kt (10 - 17.5 ms-¹) are common. The bora is a noticeably gusty wind; gusts of 40 - 70 kt (20.6 - 36.0 ms-¹) are common. The onset of a bora is frequently associated with frontal passage. The bora has generally been described as a wind of two types; the anticyclonic (also called "white" or"clear") bora, and the cyclonic (also called "dark" or "black") bora. At some locations they sometimes speak of a third type, simply called "bora." The anticyclonic bora or clear bora is the most intense configuration, producing the highest sustained wind speeds, and the highest wind speed gusts. Synoptically, the pattern can be identified as one evolving from an intense high pressure system over eastern Europe, with a low to the south over the Ionian Sea, and the southern Adriatic Sea. A frontal boundary across the northern Adriatic separates the two systems, where extremely cold air coming around the east side of the high merges with moist, southerly air, coming around the east side of the low. High pressure tends to change from a meridionally-oriented configuration, to a latitudinally-oriented configuration, as the pressure gradient between the high and the low suddenly intensifies north of the frontal boundary. This produces a strong northeasterly to easterly flow over the Dinaric Alps, north of the front, heading into the Adriatic Sea. Cap clouds are sometimes noted on the mountain crests, giving alert mariners 2-3 hours of advance warning that strong winds are coming. Knowledge that it is raining on the east side of the mountains is often an excellent additional indicator of impending strong bora winds. Data obtained from research aircraft in the region show that winds in the strong pressure gradient region behind the front actually accelerate upstream of the Alpine mountain ridge before descending as cold "fall" winds onto the coastal regions of the eastern Adriatic. The subsiding motion of the cold dry air along the coast generally clears out all cloudiness in this region - hence, the name "clear" or "white" bora. A key feature for Navy meteorologists and ship captains to understand is that the onset of strong bora winds normally commences following frontal passage in the strong pressure gradient behind the front. Equally important is the established fact that highest maximum gusts, oftenapproaching or exceeding hurricane force, usually occur several hours after frontal passage and initial bora onset. The cyclonic bora, often called the "black" or "dark" bora, is often an evolution of the anticyclonicbora, as high pressure to the north begins to weaken and the frontal boundary moves southward toward Greece. The residual low continues to spin warm, moist air over countries bordering the eastern Adriatic, producing low and mid-level cloudiness with rain over the coastal regions (hence the term "dark" or "black" bora). At the same time the cyclonic motion taps cold air from high pressure to the north, forcing this air over the mountain ridges and into the valleys, producing generally moderate speed (21 - 34 kt; 10.8 - 17 ms-¹) bora winds at coastal locations. Gusts within the cyclonic bora are often much greater than the sustained wind speed, making them of obvious concern to Naval operations. Both the anticyclonic bora and the cyclonic bora result from pressure patterns obvious in synopticanalyses and forecasts. With present day mesoscale analysis, weather centers, including that at Split,in Croatia, have had great success in predicting these events. They are less successful, however, in predicting the normal bora, the final type of bora, which frequently catches weather centers, as well asships and small boats off-guard. This is probably the result of an inadequate number of observing stations, having vertical sounding capabilities, in the region. This type of bora, similar to the anticyclonic and cyclonic bora, depends on high pressure and extremely cold air to the east. This cold air, normally, is capped by an inversion, whose height is lower than that of ridgelines of the Dinaric Alps, so that the cold air cannot reach coastal locations. When this inversion is lifted, for whatever reason, the north-south pressure gradient may be strong enough to force cold air over the ridgelines so that it can spill down toward the coastal area, gathering speed in the process. Cap cloud formation along the ridge line of the mountains is taken as an important harbinger that strong bora winds may occur within 2 -3 hours over the coastal regions. Thunderstorms may occur, infrequently, anytime during late fall, winter or spring. They are a usualresult of low pressure moving across the northern Adriatic, bringing cold air around the southerncircumference, converging with a current of warm, moist air, coming up from the Ionian Sea. A necessary corollary condition is that higher level divergence be present over the lower level convergent area (normally the divergent area in advance of an upper level trough). Strong gusty wind speeds, especially dangerous to small boats can occur under such conditions. Waterspouts have infrequently been observed in the Zadar area, with mammatus cloud conditions signaling extreme instability aloft. Wind Chill Table Heat Index Table Zadar is located on the eastern Adriatic coast about 65 nm northwest of Split, Croatia. Port of Zadar (Croatia) - Port Information