We're Chinooking!
Example:
Actual:
Yep.
On Sunday i wrote about our cold -31C.
Well, a chinook has blown into 'Cowtown' area and we are now sitting at +2C.
CRAZY!~ eh??
The picture above shows what the typical Chinook arch looks like.
"The Chinook is a rain shadow wind which results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air which has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes (orographic lift). As a consequence of the different adiabatic rates of moist and dry air, the air on the leeward slopes becomes warmer than equivalent elevations on the windward slopes." (Wikipedia) *I live in the Canadian Rockies*
I am on the leeward slope...so what does this mean for us??
A nasty headache (from the quick pressure change), wicked winds (up to 120km/h) and a rise in temperature. We lovingly refer to chinooks as "snow eaters", because that is exactly what they do. I've seriously encountered days where the temperature started out at -25C and ended at +20C. That's a HUGE change!
How long a chinook lasts is willy-nilly... but man, it is soooooo hard to go back to those low negative figures when it's been a balmy day in the middle of winter. Just as you get used to the chilling temps, a chinook blows in and ruins you!
That concludes our weather lesson for the week. We should be good now until oh.....June? Winter pretty much lasts until then!
Ugh.
Do you have any interesting weather anomalies where you live?
SamiJoe*ps~ during a chinook my children have a tendency to be completely psychotic. Teachers at school even say those are the worst days for all the kids. It's lovely.
Actual:
Yep.
On Sunday i wrote about our cold -31C.
Well, a chinook has blown into 'Cowtown' area and we are now sitting at +2C.
CRAZY!~ eh??
The picture above shows what the typical Chinook arch looks like.
"The Chinook is a rain shadow wind which results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air which has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes (orographic lift). As a consequence of the different adiabatic rates of moist and dry air, the air on the leeward slopes becomes warmer than equivalent elevations on the windward slopes." (Wikipedia) *I live in the Canadian Rockies*
I am on the leeward slope...so what does this mean for us??
A nasty headache (from the quick pressure change), wicked winds (up to 120km/h) and a rise in temperature. We lovingly refer to chinooks as "snow eaters", because that is exactly what they do. I've seriously encountered days where the temperature started out at -25C and ended at +20C. That's a HUGE change!
How long a chinook lasts is willy-nilly... but man, it is soooooo hard to go back to those low negative figures when it's been a balmy day in the middle of winter. Just as you get used to the chilling temps, a chinook blows in and ruins you!
That concludes our weather lesson for the week. We should be good now until oh.....June? Winter pretty much lasts until then!
Ugh.
Do you have any interesting weather anomalies where you live?
SamiJoe*ps~ during a chinook my children have a tendency to be completely psychotic. Teachers at school even say those are the worst days for all the kids. It's lovely.
Comments
Here's a photo I found online of hoar frost:
http://www.nz-landscapes.co.nz/photos/Hoar-Frost-Ophir.jpg
We get hoar frost here too, but generally not in the winter (early spring & fall).
We dont have stuff like that here..not that I know of..ok Im gonna go see if we have some different weather occurrence
PS - Yes, I am serious!
wink wink!
I can relate to the headaches when the baro pressure changes . . . didn't really believe in all that until I lived through it here in Russia!
Here we have "ini" - it is probably in most cold/humid places - it is when the humidity is high and really cold and the snow lightly freezes on the trees . . . like little rows of snowflakes all over everything - just beautiful!
We have a balmy -24 C today! Enjoy your warm spell!
Have a very Merry Christmas!!
Audrey
http://audreyscountrycrafts.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by!
So, cool. We're practically neighbours.
Love your blog. Great job.