High foehn

From Glossary of Meteorology



high foehn[edit | edit source]

(Also called free foehn.) The presence of south foehnlike conditions at higher elevations of the Alps while the lower elevations and the plains or "foreland" to the north are under a cold air mass.

Under these conditions, the mountains are often warmer than the lowlands. The warming is attributed to subsiding air in a synoptic anticyclone above the cold surface air. Although the winds in the warm air are apt to have a southerly component, the high foehn does not necessarily have strong, gusty foehn winds. However, this situation often precedes the foehn at the surface.


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