What Causes the Föhn Wind? South Föhn Explained (Interlaken, Switzerland) 🏔️

What causes the föhn wind? 🏔️ This animation shows how the south föhn forms and why it hits Interlaken, Switzerland, step by step. South föhn is a warm, dry, gusty wind that blows down the northern side of the Alps. It all starts with a pressure difference: high pressure sits over Italy to the south, and low pressure sits to the north of the Alps. That difference pushes air from south to north, straight into the mountains. How the föhn forms: 1. A pressure difference across the Alps (high over Italy, low to the north) pushes moist air northwards. 2. The air is forced up the southern slopes of the Alps. 3. As it rises, it cools. Its moisture condenses into cloud. 4. Rain and snow fall on the south side, so the air loses its moisture. 5. The now-dry air crests the ridge and plunges down the northern valleys, such as the Haslital and the valleys feeding into Interlaken. 6. Sinking air is compressed, so it heats up and accelerates. The result is a warm, dry, gusty föhn wind. I'm a tandem paragliding pilot in Interlaken, and Föhn is one of the main reasons we cancel flights. It can look like a beautiful, sunny day, but the wind can be far too strong and turbulent to fly safely. Why we cancel flights when the weather isn't right: https://paraglidingswitzerland.com/we... Is paragliding in Interlaken safe? https://paraglidingswitzerland.com/sa... Everything about tandem paragliding in Interlaken: https://paraglidingswitzerland.com?ut... Watch the full Paragliding Safety series:    • Safety in paragliding series - A pilots gu...   #Foehn #Föhn #Weather #Alps #Switzerland #Interlaken #Paragliding