foehn

foehn also föhn  (fn, fn)

n.

A warm dry wind coming off the lee slopes of a mountain range, especially off the northern slopes of the Alps.

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[German Föhn, from Middle High German fnne, from Old High German phno, from Vulgar Latin *fanius, from Latin favnius, the west wind, from favre, to be favorable.]

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foehn also föhn  (fn, fn)

A warm, dry, and often strong wind coming off the lee slopes of a mountain range, especially off the northern slopes of the Alps. A foehn is a katabatic wind that warms as it descends because it has dropped its moisture before crossing the mountain range and is put under greater atmospheric pressure as it moves downward. Various local names are also used for foehns (such as chinook in the Rocky Mountain regions). A foehn can cause sudden and dramatic increases in the temperaturefrom 10° to 20°C (50° to 68°F) in a few minuteswhich can cause snow to melt rapidly and even trigger flooding. See also chinook.

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foehn, föhn

a warm, dry wind that blows down the side of a mountain, as on the north side of the Alps.

See also: Wind

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

foehn - a warm dry wind that blows down the northern slopes of the Alps fohn air current, current of air, wind - air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure; "trees bent under the fierce winds"; "when there is no wind, row"; "the radioactivity was being swept upwards by the air current and out into the atmosphere"