chinook

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Flower. Fruit tree. Cherry. Cherry tree. Cherry blossom. Spring. Close-up of cherry blossoms in bloom.

The Perils of an Early Spring

September 11, 2005, ozone thinning over antarctica reached its maximum extent for the year.

Is the Ozone Layer Finally Healing Itself?

High-oblique view of the extra-tropical unnamed cyclone that merged with Hurricane Earl is featured in this image taken by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station (Sept. 2010).

Is the Number of Hurricanes Increasing?

Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.

16 Questions About Earth’s Atmsophere and Weather Answered

Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree

Can Lightning Strike the Same Place Twice?

Discover

Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.

Did George Washington Really Say, “I Can’t Tell a Lie”?

Young man skeet shooting with airborne shell

6 Unusual Olympic Sports

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

Odissi Indian classical female dancer on white background. (Indian dancer; classical dancer; Indian dance)

6 Classical Dances of India

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

Which Waters Do You Pass Through When You “Sail the Seven Seas”?

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

New Seven Wonders of the World

chinook

wind

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 9, 2025 • Article History

Related Topics:: windstorm; foehn

News •

How Chinook Winds Made The Temperature Jump 30 Degrees In One Hour In Boulder, Colorado • Feb. 7, 2025, 7:54 AM ET (The Weather Channel)

chinook, warm, dry wind descending the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, primarily in winter. Winds of the same kind occur in other parts of the world and are known generally as foehns (q.v.).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.