Monday, December 3, 2012

Chinook



Chi·nook  
 [shi-nook, -nook, chi-]

noun, plural Chi·nooks ( especially collectively  ) Chi·nook.

( lowercase  ) a warm, dry wind that blows at intervals down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Sunset with a Chinook Arch

Aaah, how we look forward to them in Western Canada in my neck of the woods, when temperatures can change dramatically in a matter of hours in the middle of our winter. We’ve been known to stand on balconies and peer westward towards the Rockies, searching in the skies for a Chinook Arch. Hoping, wishing that one will appear soon. Winter can be long but in spite of the barometric change that triggers migraines in some people, the arrival of a Chinook is a joyful thing, like a little mini Spring.  

The climate is dry here. Snow banks can disappear overnight, roads become dry, and t-shirts and shorts appear on the brave (if only for a day or two). We are looking longingly towards our mountains right about now, want to turn off our heating fans in our cars and leave our boots behind. Where or where are you beloved Chinook? We are waiting.


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