Hatrack River Forum: Chinooks

This is topic Chinooks in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

To get this straight, this is a school project. I need some questions that uneducated people would ask about chinooks.

I need to do a survey of what questions people would ask about Chinooks for a movie I am making. Chinooks are warm, dry winds that blow over the Rocky Mountains into the Prairies.

So what do you want to know?

Posted by Vána (Member # 6593) on :

Are they really as cute and fluffy as they look?

[Wink]

Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :

What time of year do they happen?

What causes them?

What effect do they have on the environment?

[ April 20, 2005, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

Chinooks generally happen during the winter months. They can raise the temperature drastically in the space of a few minutes.

Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :

Heh.

What is a chinook?
Where do they form?
How do they impact weather?
Why did they feel the need to name a specific wind pattern?

-Trevor

Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :

I don't have any questions about them - I lived on the prairies, so I've experienced them first hand. But if you need help answering questions, I'm here for ya! [Big Grin]

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

[Smile]

Firsthand experience would be great... I'll see if I can dream up a few questions to ask you!

What is a chinook?
A chinook is a warm, dry wind that travels over the Rocky mountains, drastically increasing temperatures.

Where do they form?
Chinooks are formed when a high pressure system over Alberta pulls moist pacific air east over the Rocky Mountains. It rises, expands, and then cools. Once it cools below it’s dew point, it loses it’s moisture, but retains some of the heat from that moisture. It gets warmer and warmer every time is rolls downhill, but loses less heat than it gains. By the time the air crests the final mountain range, and descends on the prairie it is warmer and drier than it was when it started out.

How do they impact weather?]
They make it warmer and drier.

Why did they feel the need to name a specific wind pattern?
Because it ts so extraordinary. In the middle of winter, the temerature can change dramatically in a few minutes.

Posted by ProverbialSunrise (Member # 7771) on :

Chinooks are fun.
What language does the word chinook come from?

Posted by Verai (Member # 7507) on :

Can they cause stuff like tornados? [Eek!]

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

What language does the word chinook come from?

Chinook is a Blackfoot word meaning snow-eater.

Can they cause stuff like tornados?

I'm not sure about this. I'm pretty sure they can't. The only thing that I've come across is that they can cause pollution to be trapped 100m above a city, creating bad smog. They also can create "shears," where a warm chinook and a cold mass of air are in a standoff, sometimes making one side of a street 10 degres warmer than the other.

Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :

And when they say that there can be wild temperature changes happening quickly, they ain't kidding.

I've experienced Chinooks in Calgary, Alberta that took temperatures from -40C to -5C in about fifteen or twenty minutes. And yes, when you're talking about pre-Chinook frigid temperatures, that -5C can feel absolutely tropical. (I've been known to start wearing shorts in Edmonton as soon as it hit -13C.)

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

Helicopter?

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

I was wondering when someone would ask that...

Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :

I've never heard of them. What do they do?
What causes them? Do people want them? Why or why not? Are they harmful? How?

Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :

Someone in our congregation had a little camper called a chinook when I was a kid. Also, isn't chinook a kind of salmon? I was also vaguely aware of the seasonal wind aspect, but it is interesting to learn about.

Q: Are Chinooks really caused by chili cookoffs in Utah?

Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :

quote:
Also, isn't chinook a kind of salmon?

Also called the king salmon. It's Alaska's state fish. [Big Grin]

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

When I lived in Anchorage, we called that weather a Chinook also. I always assumed it was an Alaska native word. Hunh.

Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :

Sorry. I just couldn't help myself.

Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :

The only thing I know about chinooks is that they marked the end of the Long Winter in the Little House on the Prairie series. I used to love those books. [Razz]

~Jane~

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

I need more questions! Think, people, think!

Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :

So they're a wind. Are they kind of like the Santa Anas in So. Cal.?

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

Same thing, different name.

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

What about human behavior changes associated with weird winds like Chinooks? Are they real or folklore? How do animals react to them?

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Any Blackfoot (or any other Native American tribe) myths or folklore about Chinooks?

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

What about human behavior changes associated with weird winds like Chinooks?
The quick drop in atmospheric pressure causes intense headaches. Some women have sinus headaches, dizziness and nausea during chinooks. Emotional disorders are aggravated. People report having pent-up energy, feeling agitated, insomnia, and feelings of paranoia. The drastic temperature change, and gusting wind that can be charged with positive ions may cause depression or maybe psychotic behavior.

Any Blackfoot (or any other Native American tribe) myths or folklore about Chinooks?

Yes. There are many folklore and mythological stories about Chinooks. I will type one up soon.

Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :

Do they make people commit suicide?

Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :

Or am I thinking about some other kind of wind?

Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :

They got something in Europe, a wind, can't remember what it's called, that can make people murder people, and apparently you can use it as a legitimate defense.

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

The foehn is the equivelent of the Chinook in Europe.

Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :

[Grumble]

I thought that this was a post about helicopters...

Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :

[Grumble]

I thought it was a post about fish. Isn't a chinnok what Henry Huggins goes fishing for with his dog Ribsy. And remember how Ribsy gets all wet and smelly? Good times.

space opera

Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :

If they're the same thing as the Santa Anas, how come I've never heard of the Santa Anas having a strange effect on humans?

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

quote:
how come I've never heard of the Santa Anas having a strange effect on humans

How could you tell, in La-La Land? [Taunt]

Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :

No idea, KQ. Maybe it has something to do with the chinook having a more drastic temperature change.

Presentation was today. Thanks for helping! I think it went well.

Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :

Be quiet, p... *stifles evil nickname*

I guess that makes sense. Come to think of it, the cats did used to go crazy with them.