Synonyms
Aspre; Austru; Berg; Chinook; Favogn; Halny; Nor-Wester; Samun; Santa Ana; Zonda
Definition
Föhn is a warm, dry, strong, and gusty wind descending down on the leeward side of a mountain range, as a result of a synoptic-scale, cross-barrier flow over the mountain range.
Föhn winds occur along the leeward slopes of mountains in various regions of the world and they have regional names, such as zonda in Argentina, halny in Poland, austru in Romania, favogn in Switzerland, aspre in France, chinook and Santa Ana in USA, berg in South Africa, Nor-wester in New Zealand, and samun in Iran. The particular term föhn is associated with the Alps. When moist air is forced to rise over the mountains, it cools at the saturated adiabatic lapse-rate (0.5°C·100 m−1). The humidity increases until the condensation begins. Precipitation may occur and föhn clouds can be formed. Föhn clouds are either orographic clouds or mountain wave clouds. Orographic clouds may include crest clouds and the föhn...
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Bibliography
Ahrens, C. D., 1999. Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the Environment. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.
Glossary of Meteorology, 2009. American Meteorological Society, http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary
International Meteorological Vocabulary, 1992. Geneva: WMO.
Whittow, J. B., 1984. The Penguin Dictionary of Physical Geography. London: Penguin Books.
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Bokwa, A. (2013). Föhn. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_145
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