Suetes

Suetes, suêtes, les suêtes, are strong south-east foehn winds on the west coast of Cape Breton Island. The term "suête" originates from the Acadian French inhabitants of the Cheticamp area as a contraction of "sud est" (south-east).

The western edge of the Cape Breton Highlands plateau slopes abruptly down to sea-level from approximately 400 meters altitude. South-easterly winds lifted on the East side of the island are flowing across the plateau and frequently accelerated to high velocities on the steep downslope in stable airmass condition. The weather station at Grand Etang has recorded wind speeds of over 200 km/hour on several occasions.