I don’t know what it is about chinooks that feel unsettling to me. The temperature in Tok today is in the 30s. That is PLUS 30 degrees Farenheit for those who know that the temperatures here can get pretty cold. This time of year minus 30 is common.

I should be enjoying this warm weather. But there is something haunting about a warm wind blowing.

I’m not sure what it is about a chinook in the middle of winter blowing across a snowy landscape that disturbs me. Does it remind me of something from my past?

I remember these chinooks  in Wyoming. Maybe this wind is carrying me back to my time spent on the vast open plains of the West, at a time in my life when I was disconnected and alone.

Maybe these chinooks are like the loneliness you feel when you are with someone you love and then they have to go away – deceptively warm at first but intensely cold and empty once they’re gone.

When I stepped outside today, I was overcome with a feeling of foreboding, as if the warm winds were bringing bad news or sad feelings amidst their swirls and gusts. Even though the sun was shining and the sky was promising blue, I wanted to retreat back into my car, back into my house, and wait it out until the warm winds stopped blowing through Tok.

Am I the only one who feels haunted by chinooks? Tell me I’m not crazy.

UPDATE: Kay noted in comments that there is a study about women 20-49 and chinooks. Fascinating excerpt:

Autonomic reactions and skin disorders were found to be significantly related to chinook conditions. None of the psychological symptoms was related to chinook conditions. However, a significant relationship was found between symptoms and chinook conditions in women with a history of emotional disorders. This type of information is important to educate chinook-sensitive women and health professionals as well as for hospital emergency departments in order to be able to prepare for potential increases in workload.

Marja J. Verhoef¹   , M. Sarah Rose¹ and Savitri Ramcharan¹

(1)	Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, T2N 4N1 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Received: 4 February 1994  Revised: 14 December 1994  Accepted: 15 December 1994

Guess this means I AM crazy, eh?