In Canada
Chinooks are most prevalent over southern Alberta in Canada, especially in a belt from Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass through Lethbridge, which get 30 to 35 Chinook days per year on average. Chinooks become less frequent further south in the United States, and are not as common north of Red Deer, but they can and do occur annually as far north as High Level in northwestern Alberta and Fort St. John in northeastern British Columbia, and as far south as Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In southwestern Alberta, Chinook winds can gust in excess of hurricane force . On November 19, 1962, an especially powerful Chinook in Lethbridge gusted to 171 km/h (106 mph).
In Pincher Creek, the temperature rose by 41°C (74°F), from -19 to 22°C (-2 to 72°F), in one hour in 1962. Trains have been known to be derailed by Chinook winds there. During the winter, driving can be treacherous, as the wind blows snow across roadways, sometimes causing roads to vanish and snowdrifts to pile up higher than a metre. Empty semitrailer trucks driving along Highway 3 and other routes in southern Alberta have been blown over by the high gusts of wind caused by Chinooks.
Calgary also gets many Chinooks – the Bow Valley in the Canadian Rockies west of the city acts as a natural wind tunnel, funneling the chinook winds.
In February 1992, Claresholm, Alberta hit 24°C (75°F) – one of Canada's highest February temperatures.
Read more about this topic: Chinook Wind
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