A Chinook is a term used to describe a type of wind that occurs in the Rocky Mountains.
Winds generally blow from west to east across the United States.
Chinooks often result when air from the west blows over and down the eastern sides of the Rocky Mountains.
These winds can gust up to 100 miles per hour and are very dry and warm, sometimes the temperature rises by 50° or 60° Fahrenheit in less than an hour.
Chinook is an American Indian word meaning “snow eater.”
This type of wind occurs all over the world, but it has different names.
In Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, it is called fan; in Italy, it is called sirocco; and in Argentina, it is known as zonda.
