Friday, December 14, 2007

{Show & Tell} Chinook Arch

I am finally back in the blog-world, and I'm almost caught up in reading all the blogs that I've missed the last three or wo weeks!  I thought that probably Show & Tell with Mary aka CanadaGirl would be a good time to get back to blogging.  I picked something to share that I already have loaded to photobucket, as I expect it will take something like three years three weeks to upload ALL my pictures... oh the joy of dial-up.  *sigh*


 


I have been away from the blogosphere because my family spent just over two weeks in Alberta, Canada, celebrating Christmas (early) with my parents and other family.  We haven't been home for a visit in seven years, so much had changed.  The first weekend we were there, my dad came in one morning and let us know that if we wanted to see a great chinook arch, that we should go out and have a look.  I wish that I'd been able to drive out of town and get an open prairie view to take the pictures, but I thought this turned out well - so clear!!!!


 



 


For anyone that doesn't know what a chinook is, you can find out more here



Chinook winds, often just called chinooks, are Fohn winds in the interior West of North America, where the Canadian Prairies and Great Plains meet various mountain ranges.  Northeast of the mountains, it is warm and dry, after being stripped of its moisture by the mountains in its path.  A popular myth is that Chinook means "snow eater", as a strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels.  Chinooks are most prevalent over southern Alberta in Canada, especially in a belt from Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass through Lethbridge, which get 30 to 35 chinook days per year on average.


 



The picture was taken from the city of Airdrie where my parents and sister now live.  I am from Calgary so chinooks are a big part of my memories of home.


 


Head over to CanadaGirl's blog and check out other Show & Tells, or participate with your own.

15 comments:

blessinghill said...

What a great picture! Thanks for the little lesson too.

blessedwith2angels said...

What a neat picture. Thanks for sharing.

Pam

Canadagirl said...

Thank you for explaining it sooooooooo well ! Calgary is only 6 hours from where I live. I have heard of the Chinook but didn't understand it at all. I know it has caused people headaches but now I know why. Thank you so much for sharing and I am soooooooo glad you are back. I was just about to head over to your blog to see if you were okay. life is busy and I am behind in my visiting. You were well thought of my sweet friend.


Blessings and ((hugs)) my SSiC

In HIm<><

-Mary

SuzyScribbles said...

Well, I learn something new every day. We call a Chinook a warm winter wind no matter when it comes. If it is unusually warm, then it's our Chinook. LOL

We live in Western WA and it's probably not a Chinook at all, but El Nino or something from the Pacific. :-)

bakerswife said...

I learned something new today! Thank you for explaining and showing us the great photo.

Glad you are back to blogging, and that you also had a great visit.

Blessings and Joy,

Mamam Karen

DaddysCHicks said...

What a wonderful visit you had. Welcome back! I too learned something new. Thanks for sharing & have a blessed day.


Trina


http://daddyschicks.blogspot.com

drewsfamilytx said...

Very cool!


I had never seen one nor even heard of one before. Amazing!

Dot said...

I bet that was great to see. I love sky pictures .

CrossView said...

Sounds like a great time! =D

Love the Canuck Chinook! LOL!

Haflingerhorses said...

Thank you for educating me on this! I never heard any of this before.

Antoinette

short said...

What an amazing picture. Wow. Living in a country where snow is virtually unheard of except on the highest elevations, we don't have this kind of weather phenomenon. On the contrary, when snow does fall, people drive from all over the country to experience it. We read about a chinook in The Big Winter...... how neat to see a picture now. Thanks for sharing!

Keri said...

chinooks...I had never heard of that!

Very Interesting!

SuzyScribbles said...

Thanks for saying you like my new look. What an ordeal for the HTML-challenged bloggers on HSB (like me). If it wasn't for faithful blog friends, I could never have changed over.

DanielleW said...

Great picture and good explination. Very fascinating.

Sandpiper said...

I have been in Calgary during a chinook. We have family that live there. And yes, it was freezing one day and warm enough that we didn't need a coat, the next!

Glad you had a chance to go 'home' and see family after so many years!

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