Whereas its cold counterpart, the Bise, blasts chilly air down from the north, the Föhn is a wind that comes from the south over the Alps. It generally brings warm, dry air, hence its name; Föhn is German for hairdryer, though who knows which came first. But this can be quite some hairdryer, with wind speeds regularly over 100 kilometres an hour17 and dramatic temperature changes. It’s not unusual for it to be 25°C where the Föhn is blowing and 6°C a few valleys away. Perhaps it’s this atmospheric disturbance that makes the Föhn an ill wind for the Swiss, blamed for causing migraines, suicides
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