An east wind is a strong, hot wind that blows from the east, usually during May, September, and October. People in Bible times also called this wind a sirocco. This hot wind could cause great damage to plants and water sources. It destroyed plants (Genesis 41:6; Ezekiel 17:10; Jonah 4:8). It made flowers dry up and die (Psalm 103:15–16). It dried up fountains and springs of water (Hosea 13:15).
The east wind played an important role in several Bible stories. God used an east wind to push back the waters of the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk across on dry ground (Exodus 14:21). In the Bible, writers sometimes used the east wind as a way to describe God's judgment against people who did wrong (Isaiah 27:8; Jeremiah 4:11; 18:17).
In the New Testament, a strong east or northeast wind pushed the apostle Paul's ship off its planned route (Acts 27:14, called “Euroclydon” in the King James Version). Sailors who travel in the western Mediterranean Sea call this type of wind a "levanter." These winds still cause problems for ships in that part of the sea today.