Chinook is the name of a tribe of native Americans, also known as the Flatheads, who fished along what is now called the Columbia River. They were first mentioned by Lewis & Clark, I think. That tribe called the salmon from the Columbia River, Chinook. Their language was the main native language that was part of the polyglot used when early Europeans met with NW tribes, so that jargon became known as Chinook, too.
We get a Chinook wind here in the Pacific NW as well... sometimes called "Snow-Eater." I think of it as a south wind, but I suppose it seems more western by the time it reaches Alberta. Most people like the Chinook, but it can be deadly in the mountains if it warms up the snow pack and causes avalanches.
Chinook Wind
There's a similar kind of wind in southern Europe, can't remember the name just now, where the winds blow off the Sahara, across the Medi to warm up Spain & southern France & Italy. Unfortunately, it tends to bring lots of dust with it.
Good one, Ceili! We were in one a couple of years ago, in Spain. It was so dusty, the visibility was awful and there was a stink to the air. (People were saying it was the smell of camel dung!) Then there was a horrible rain storm that in one night washed away big chunks of shoreline.
That website also said some people were invigorated, so it must be a very individual thing.
