The foehn is a warm, dry airflow that sweeps down the northern side of the Alps, usually during early winter or spring. The foehn is sometimes called the “wicked wind” because of the ill effects it often has on people in Switzerland and southern Germany.
This wind results from differing air pressures on the northern and southern sides of the Alps. Air rises along the southern slopes of the mountains, depositing its moisture as it travels, and then sweeps down the northern slopes as a very dry wind.
During periods when the foehn is blowing, people in the region frequently report dizziness, nausea, and depression. Accidents and crime increase. Animals too are affected, and cows sometimes stop giving milk.
Some scientists believe that the foehn’s ill effects are due to its influence on electricity in the air. Changes in the electrical balance of the atmosphere can disturb living things. There is no “cure” for the foehn, but medicines are sold that supposedly ward off the wicked wind’s effects!
Related Posts
-
What Causes Solar Wind and What Is the Difference Between Solar Wind and Solar Flares?
Solar wind refers to streaming electrically charged atomic particles that constantly escape from the Sun through coronal holes, which are weak spots in the Sun's magnetic field. It is faster and much hotter…
-
How Big Are Wind Turbines and What Is the Largest Wind Farm In the United States?
Wind turbines that are used to generate electricity come in many shapes and sizes. The largest turbine, in Hawaii, is 20 stories high and has propellers with a span longer than a football…
-
Where does Wind Shear come from and How do pilots and airports detect wind shear?
Unless you spend a lot of time flying airplanes, you probably haven't given a great deal of thought to the subject of wind shear. Wind shear is the phenomenon of radically differing wind…
-
Why Does a Weather Vane Point To the Direction the Wind Is From and Why Are They Shaped Like a Rooster?
The arrow on a weather vane points into the wind. If the arrow is to the north, the wind is from the north. The tail of the weather vane is heavier than the…
-
Why Do We Have Wind?
The air moving around the earth, the atmosphere, is heated by the sun. But the sun does not heat this air or the surface of the earth evenly. So, some air is warm…
-
Where Did the Name Pansy O’Hara From the Book Gone With The Wind Come From?
Margaret Mitchell was a first-time writer when in 1936 she submitted a manuscript of Civil War stories told to her by her grandfather. The title of the manuscript was "Tomorrow Is Another Day",…
