A katabatic wind, from the Greek word katabatikos meaning "going downhill", is a wind that blows down a topographic incline such as a hill, mountain, or glacier. Such winds, particularly when they occur over a wide area, are sometimes called fall winds. Wind is the roughly horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... Aletsch glacier, Switzerland A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ...

A distinction is drawn between winds that are warmer than their surroundings (generally called Föhn or regionally, Chinook, Santa Ana, Bergwind or Diablo) and those that are cooler (for instance the Mistral in the Mediterranean, the Bura (or Bora) in the Adriatic or the Oroshi in Japan). In more recent times, however, the term katabatic wind usually refers to the cold variant. A föhn wind or foehn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. ... Chinook winds, often just called chinooks, are a wind pattern observed in midwestern North America, named for the Chinook Indians. ... Santa Ana winds are warm, dry winds that characteristically appear in Southern California weather during autumn and early winter. ... Bergwind (i. ... Diablo wind is a regional term for the foehn wind that often occurs in the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Mistral Missile Tactical effective range ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... This article is about the bora wind. ... Bora or Bura is a northern to north-eastern katabatic wind in the Adriatic, Greece and Turkey. ... The Adriatic Sea Source: NASA The Adriatic Sea (Italian Mare Adriatico, German Adriatisches Meer or Adria, Croatian Jadransko more or Jadran) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps...

The cold form of katabatic wind originates in a cooling, either radiatively or through vertical motion, of air at the top of the mountain, glacier, or hill. Since the density of air increases with lower temperature, the air will flow downwards, warming adiabatically as it descends, but still remaining relatively cold. Density (symbol: ρ - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume. ... Air is a name for the mixture of gases present in the Earths atmosphere. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... In thermodynamics, an adiabatic process is a process in which no heat is gained or lost in the working fluid. ...

Cold katabatic winds are frequently found in the early hours of the night when the solar heating has ceased and the ground cools by emitting infrared radiation. Cold air from extratropical cyclones may contribute to this effect. Solar heating is a style of building construction which uses the energy of sunshine to heat a structure. ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of microwave radiation. ... Extratropical is a term used in advisories and tropical summaries to indicate that a cyclone has lost its tropical characteristics. ...

Over Antarctica and Greenland, prominent (although unnamed) cold katabatic winds exist, blowing for most of the year.

Winds which blow up a slope are called anabatic winds. An anabatic wind is a wind which blows up a steep slope or mountain side. ...

References

• McKnight, TL & Hess, Darrel (2000). Katabatic Winds. In , Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation, pp. 131-2. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0130202630

See also

• Föhn wind

A föhn wind or foehn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. ...

Links

• Weather A-Z - Katabatic Winds By Bill Giles OBE