Editing Katabatic wind (section)

== Impacts ==
[[File:Antarctic shelf ice hg.png|thumb|Coastal [[polynya]]s are produced in the Antarctic by katabatic winds]]
<!-- [[File:Sea ice by fruchtzwerg's world.jpg|thumb|Katabatic wind spilling off an ice shelf]]-->
Katabatic winds are for example found blowing out from the large and elevated ice sheets of [[Antarctica]] and [[Greenland]].  The buildup of high density cold air over the ice sheets and the elevation of the ice sheets brings into play enormous gravitational energy. Where these winds are concentrated into restricted areas in the coastal valleys, the winds blow well over hurricane force,<ref>[http://shl.stanford.edu:3455/southpole/577 Climate: The South Pole] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918055013/http://shl.stanford.edu:3455/SouthPole/577 |date=2008-09-18 }} [http://shl.stanford.edu:3455/admin/directory.html Stanford Humanities Lab]  {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20060912022451/http://shl.stanford.edu:3455/admin/directory.html |date=2006-09-12 }}, Retrieved 2008-10-01</ref> reaching around {{convert|160|kn|km/h mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>Trewby, M. (Ed., 2002): ''Antarctica. An encyclopedia from Abbott Ice Shelf to Zooplankton'' Firefly Books Ltd. {{ISBN|1-55297-590-8}}</ref>  In Greenland these winds are called [[piteraq]] and are most intense whenever a low pressure area approaches the coast.

In a few regions of continental Antarctica the snow is scoured away by the force of the katabatic winds, leading to "dry valleys" (or "[[Antarctic oasis|Antarctic oases]]") such as the [[McMurdo Dry Valleys]]. Since the katabatic winds are descending, they tend to have a low relative humidity, which [[Desiccation|desiccates]] the region. Other regions may have a similar but lesser effect, leading to [[Blue-ice area|"blue ice" areas]] where the snow is removed and the surface ice [[Sublimation (phase transition)|sublimates]], but is replenished by glacier flow from upstream.

In the Fuegian Archipelago ([[Tierra del Fuego]]) in South America as well as in Alaska in North America, a wind known as a [[williwaw]] is a particular danger to harboring vessels. Williwaws originate in the snow and ice fields of the coastal mountains, and they can be faster than {{convert|120|kn|km/h mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>[http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wind/The-Williwaw.htm Williwaw] ''weatheronline.co.uk''. Accessed 2013-04-29.</ref>

In California, strong katabatic wind events have been responsible for the explosive growth of many wildfires, including the 2018 [[Camp Fire (2018)|Camp Fire]] and the 2020 [[North Complex fire|North Complex]].

In [[Catalonia]], the [[Marinada (wind)|Marinada]] is a fall wind that relieves from the heat inhabitants of the [[Urgell]] region during summer.<ref name=":0" />