8.32 Mountain Weather

8.32.2 Define the Föhn wind.

Fohn – German word derived from the Latin expression “west wind”.

A fohn wind is a warm, dry and gusty wind blowing on the lee side of mountain ranges.

Air ascends up the windward side of the mountain range cooling adiabatically as it rises.

Precipitation must occur on the windward side making the descending air on the lee side much drier.

The cloud base is higher on the lee side because the drier air has a lower dew point, thus the descending air warms for a longer period of time at the DALR.

This results in a net increase in temperature.

8.32.4 In Föhn wind conditions, describe the typical weather: