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A combination of recent intensive observations and simulations with two numerical models is used to revisit the issue of the northern Adriatic response to strong bora episodes. New observed and simulated data reinforce the view that an episode of strong bora wind provokes a double-gyre (cyclonic, Trieste, and anticyclonic, Rovinj) response north of the Po Delta - Pula line. During an intense bora episode, both measured and modeled statistics picture a downwind, highly-polarized (ε ≤ 0.18), and almost depth-independent (γ ≥ 0.93) flow within the Trieste gyre NW arm. Its NE arm maintains a sharp polarization and strong depth dependence while exhibiting lower speeds, with models in good accord with observations. The current statistics for Rovinj gyre provides lower maximum and average speed values and less polarized (ε ≤ 0.54) but still rather depth independent (γ ≥ 0.94) flow, while exhibiting clockwise rotation. The north arm of the Senj gyre (positioned south of the Po Delta – Pula line) enjoys more lateral freedom, and exhibits less rectilinear (ε ≤ 0.42) flow. Our review demonstrates that the modeling studies based on ECMWF wind fields fail to capture the smaller- scale vorticity due to orographic incisions in the Dinaric Alps. The COAMPS® model successfully simulated the onset, duration, and decay of the wind peaks exhibiting a tendency to overpredict the strength of the bora wind. Our simulations have identified the shallow NW coastal strip as an important source of colder water observed in a sequence of remotely sensed SST fields derived from AVHRR data.