Weather Glossary

A Chinook is a native Canadian word meaning snow-eater used to describe a class of gusty winds that become warm and dry as they flow down the slopes of a mountain range. In Canada, Chinooks are strongest in southwestern Alberta where they flow through Crowsnest Pass and fan out over the southern part of the province. A Chinook can raise the temperature by as much as 22^°C in a few hours, melting snow and bringing spring like weather in the darkest months of winter.