Snow eater

Klippet fra wikipedia:

Chinook winds, often just called chinooks, are a variety of Föhn winds pattern observed in the interior West of North America, where the Canadian Prairies and Great Plains end and the mountains begin. These wind patterns are named for the country of the Chinook Indians, which lies in the direction these winds were realized to originate from.

In popular myth, Chinook is supposed to mean "snow eater", as a strong Chinook can make a foot of snow all but vanish inside of one day. The snow partially melts, and partially evaporates in the dry wind. However, the true origin of the name is that "Chinook Wind" in the local argot of the fur trade era meant that the wind came from the direction of the country of the Chinooks (the lower Columbia River, i.e. from across the Rocky Mountains).

Chinook winds have been observed to elevate winter temperatures, 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, at the end of which, the temperatures plummet to their base levels.