Note: In the early 90s, my family and I operated an Alaskan historical park where our sled dog excursions were the centerpiece of our guests’ Last Frontier experience.
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“Chinooks are here!”
Chinooks are rain-bearing air currents that release moisture at high elevations before rushing down mountain slopes—warming territory as they travel. Chinooks can melt a foot or more of snow in a matter of hours. During Chinooks, it’s not unusual for temperatures to jump from zero to 40 degrees in a few hours. Persistent Chinooks can buff the top layer of snow to a treacherous glassy sheen.
I’ve had the “pleasure” of mushing sled dogs in Chinooks. In these warming gales, dogsled runners slide uncontrollably on a polished glaze of ice. It’s no fun—especially when carrying 300 pounds of passenger weight in the sled basket.
Chinooks “cooked” us inside our parkas, and we fought to keep our sleds from careening off the trails. Chinooks forced our drivers and sled dogs to alter plans and routes. And if temperatures warmed-up past the upper 30s, we closed down our mushing tours altogether, to protect the huskies from heat exhaustion.
The nomadic Chinooks changed everything.
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Have “Chinooks” descended upon your plans? God often uses ill winds to refocus our attention. If you, as a believer, have ever prayed “thy will be done…” God has heard you. He will use minor breezes or raging storms in life to shape you for his purposes.
The sovereign God is involved in every detail of your life—so consider: If “Chinooks” trouble you, God may be reminding you of who “determines” your steps.
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
Home at Cache of grace 
Richard,
I so very much enjoy your writings. Chinooks have long been one of my most favorite experiences mother nature throws our way. As a very young child I would run or ride my bike as fast as I could in them and pretend I was a wild horse….oh the things a young child imagines. At the same time I enjoyed the pure excitement of them they also struck a cord of fear. I once witnessed these great winds pick up and toss a neighbors trailer over the side of an embankment in a small trailer park. I of course, didn’t so much see the happenings of it as I was tucked deep within the recesses under my bed but I did see the aftermath the following morning (luckily nobody was in that trailer).
I have that same excitement and fear when God produces a Chinook in my life. The excitement in anticipation of something great happening and the fear of not knowing where this is taking me. I fear I will falter or fail in my faith but I never do, in fact with each battering storm my faith gets stronger. I am SO grateful the Lord brought missionaries to our little trailer park when I was a young girl, they offered bus services to a local church in town that I was able to attend for a short period of my young life but that was enough to plant a seed. A seed that sat dormant for a long time but eventually sprouted and to this day is growing stronger with each passing year.
To all the readers out there, I pray that when God produces a Chinook in your life you let your fear turn to Faith and know there is something greater on the other side of the storm.
Thank you Richard for your writings. I am a big fan!
Tammy