Foehn

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Foehn \Foehn\, n. [G. dial. (Swiss), fr. L. Favonius west wind.
     Cf. {Favonian}.] (Meteor.)
     (a) A warm dry wind that often blows in the northern valleys
         of the Alps, due to the indraught of a storm center
         passing over Central Europe. The wind, heated by
         compression in its descent from the mountains, reaches


         the base, particularly in winter, dry and warm.
     (b) Any similar wind, as the chinook, in other parts of the
         world.
         [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  foehn
       n : a warm dry wind that blows down the northern slopes of the
           Alps [syn: {fohn}]