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By WeatherBug's Intern Meteorologist, Christopher Smith
You may be familiar with winds having nicknames such as Santa Ana Winds. However, if you aren’t from the High Plains, you probably haven’t heard much about Chinook Winds. Let’s dive into what defines these winds.
Chinook winds, first and foremost, are downslope winds that most notably occur on the Lee side of the Rocky Mountains. These winds develop mainly in the colder months and are caused by a pressure gradient that forms as a strong, cold high pressure system moves over the Rockies, forcing the winds to move toward lower pressure in lower elevations along the Front Range and High Plains. Winds can become extremely strong, occasionally with gusts as high as 100 mph!
Sometimes Chinook Winds are called “snow-eater” winds as well. While the winds are moving down the mountain side, the air compresses as pressure increases with lower elevation. The temperature of the air rises as the air compresses, getting above freezing. When the relatively warm winds blow over the snowpack during the winter months, it quickly melts the snow, getting the nickname of “snow-eater”.
There have been very extreme and notable Chinook wind events, such as that in the Winter of 1982. On January 17 and 24, widespread wind gusts over 100 mph devastated areas outside of Denver including Boulder, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs, Colo. Winds gusted as high as 140 mph just near the cities with up to 40 percent of buildings damaged near Boulder, Colo., and nearly half of the roofs damaged in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Next time you hear Chinook Winds this season, be prepared for a wild rise and stay safe as the weather can change quickly and even become dangerous.
Sources: weather.gov, ncei.noaa.gov
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