A Föhn wind
A föhn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. As the wind moves upslope, it expands and cools, causing water vapour to precipitate out. This dehydrated air then passes over the crest and begins to move down slope. As the wind descends to lower levels on the leeward side of the mountains, the air heats as it comes under greater atmospheric pressure creating strong, gusty, warm and dry winds.
These winds are often associated in popular mythology with illness ranging from migraines to psychosis. The Santa Ana winds are often called “the murder winds.” A study by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München found that suicide and accidents increased by 10 percent during föhn winds in Central Europe. The causation of Föhnkrankheit (English: Föhn-sickness), however, remains to be proven.
There have been Föhn winds here in the Chamonix valley for the last couple of days. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling a bit mental. Either that or it’s because of the bastard builders who have been using a pneumatic hammer to knock down a 2 foot thick concrete wall outside my apartment.
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