Katabatic wind facts for kids
A katabatic wind is a very strong wind which blows downhill. They can be warm winds like the "föhn" wind on the north slopes of the Alps in Europe or the Chinook which blows down the Rockies in the US. They can also be very cold winds like those in Antarctica or Greenland. They are made when cold, dense air flows down from the ice cap to the coast. Sometimes these winds are called fall winds. Along the Adriatic coast, the cold katabatic wind is called the "bora", and in France it is called the "mistral".
Images for kids
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Plateau-cooled air falls into the Makhtesh Ramon, traced by radiation fog, just after dawn. Radiative cooling of the desert highlands chills the air, making it more dense than the air over the lowlands. Cooler air can also hold less water vapour; it condenses out as tiny fog droplets, which re-evaporate as the air warms. Here, the falling air is warming adiabatically, and so the fog re-evaporates as it falls.
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Sketch of the generation of katabatic winds in Antarctica
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Coastal polynyas are produced in the Antarctic by katabatic winds
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See also
In Spanish: Viento catabático para niños
