Foehn

fen, a warm, dry wind of the Alps. It resembles our chinook in origin and nature. It descends from the upper Alps into the valleys along the northern side of the same from Geneva to Salzburg. The owners of vineyards depend upon it to cure their grapes in the autumn. It is of great benefit in the spring in removing the heavy snows of that region quickly. The word has passed into general use and is applied to winds of the sort, wherever found. Thus travelers speak of the Himalaya foehn, the Greenland foehn, etc. See Chinook; Wind