mountain breeze
McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary:
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mountain breeze
(′mau̇nt·ən ′brēz)
(meteorology) A breeze that blows down a mountain slope due to the gravitational flow of cooled air. Also known as mountain wind.
Oxford Dictionary of Geography:
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mountain wind
A wind which occurs when heavier, cold air flows downslope from mountain peaks or from a glacier. See katabatic wind and bora.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Aviation:
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mountain breeze
A breeze in the valley in the later afternoons and at night. During this period, the valley walls cool quickly, cooling a layer of air next to the slope. This cold and more dense air moves downs-lope into the valley, causing the mountain breeze (gravity or drainage wind). The slopes cool at a rate faster than they heat up, so the mountain breeze may be stronger than the valley breeze, averaging 10 to 12 knots. Departing downslope will mean the airplane may be subject to the tailwind. This is more pronounced on clear nights. See also valley breeze.
Night katabatic wind is one form of mountain breeze.
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McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Geography
A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.
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