The poniente is a wind from the west (where the sun "sets"), a term widely used in Spanish and Mediterranean meteorology. Its character varies significantly by region: in the Strait of Gibraltar and the coasts of Cádiz and Málaga, the poniente blows from the west bringing Atlantic moisture that generates fog and rain; on the Mediterranean coast and the peninsular interior, it arrives dry after losing its moisture over mountain ranges through orographic precipitation. In southeastern Spain (Almería, Murcia), the poniente is a feared wind: after crossing the Betic mountain ranges, it descends as a warm, dry katabatic wind through the Föhn effect, raising temperatures to extreme values. It is one of the factors behind the most intense heat waves in these regions, with maximums that can exceed 45 °C. In contrast, on the beaches of Cádiz, the summer poniente brings cooling relief from the stifling levante. At synoptic scale, a poniente regime over the Iberian Peninsula usually indicates active zonal jet stream flow, associated with the passage of Atlantic cold fronts and depressions. It is the most common wind direction in Atlantic Spain (Galicia, Cantabria, Basque Country) and determines most precipitation on the western peninsular slope.