“How does the ‘Chetco Effect’ work?”
Danielle Fachet
SOU
The Chetco Effect is a term to define the phenomenon in which dry adiabatic heating increases the temperature of an air mass as it descends the slopes where the Chetco River creates a valley. The air gets funneled down towards Brookings and is able to heat up much more than the rest of the South Coast. This is the same phenomenon as the Santa Ana winds in southern California.
The hottest day ever recorded in Brookings was due to the Chetco Effect warming the Brookings Airport to 108 degrees on July 8, 2008!