Kaavie-
In Scotland, a heavy fall of snow.
Kachchan-
A hot, dry, west or southwest wind of foehn type in the lee of the Sri Lanka hills during the southwest monsoon in June and July.
Kal baisakhi-
In India, a short lived dusty squall at the onset of the southwest monsoon (April to June) in Bengal.
Kamchatka current-
The western part of the subpolar gyre in the deep (western) part of the Bering Sea.
Karaburan-
A violent northeast wind of Central Asia occurring during spring and summer.
Karajol-
On the Bulgarian coast, a west wind that usually follows rain and persists for one to three days.
Karema wind-
A violent east wind on Lake Tanganyika in Africa.
Karif-
A strong southwest wind on the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden, especially at Berbera, Somaliland, during the southwest monsoon.
Katabaric front-
Frontal surface above which air is descending.
Katabatic wind-
Most widely used in mountain meteorology to denote a downslope flow driven by cooling at the slope surface during periods of light larger scale winds; the nocturnal component of the along slope wind systems.
Katafront-
A front (usually a cold front) at which the warm air descends the frontal surface (except, presumably, in the lowest layers).
Katallobaric center-
A point of maximum decrease in atmospheric pressure over a specified interval of time; on synoptic charts, a point of greatest negative pressure tendency; opposed to a pressure rise center.
Kaus-
A moderate to gale force southeasterly wind in the Persian Gulf; it is accompanied by gloomy weather, rain, and squalls.
Kelsher-
In England, a heavy fall of rain.
Kelvin Helmholtz billows-
1. Cloud forms that arise from Kelvin Helmholtz waves. 2. Vortical structures that result from the growth and nonlinear development of unstable waves in a shear flow. The billows get their name from the instability responsible for the growth of the unstable waves, Kelvin Helmholtz instability.
Kelvin Helmholtz instability-
An instability of the basic flow of an incompressible inviscid fluid in two parallel infinite streams of different velocities and densities.
Kelvin Helmholtz wave-
A waveform disturbance that arises from Kelvin Helmholtz instability.
Kelvin wave-
A type of low frequency gravity wave trapped to a vertical boundary, or the equator, which propagates anticlockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere) around a basin.
Khamsin-
(Also spelled camsin, chamsin, kamsin, khamasseen, khemsin.) A dry, dusty, and generally hot desert wind in Egypt and over the Red Sea. It is generally southerly or southeasterly, occurring in front of depressions moving eastward across North Africa or the southeastern Mediterranean. The deep khamsins occur in spring with depressions traveling east northeast across the northern Sahara. They are preceded by a heat wave lasting about three days and are followed by a duststorm. The passage of the depression is marked by a cold front bringing Mediterranean air and a sudden drop in temperature. See ghibli, chili, sirocco.
Killing freeze-
The occurrence of air temperature below 0 degree C (32 degree F) that kills annual vegetation without formation of frost crystals on surfaces. See freeze, dry freeze, hard freeze, light freeze.
Kloof wind-
A cold southwest wind of Simons Bay, South Africa.
Knik wind-
Local name for a strong southeast wind in the vicinity of Palmer in the Matanuska Valley of Alaska. The knik wind blows most frequently in the winter, although it may occur at any time of year. In winter the knik winds are accompanied by very pronounced temperature rises; cases of more than 10°C in 24 hours have been observed. These winds may last from one to ten days. They result from a pressure gradient normal to the Chugach Mountains, causing a pronounced foehn effect in the Matanuska Valley.
Koembang-
A dry foehnlike wind from southeast or south in Cheribon and Tegal in Indonesia. It is caused by the east monsoon that develops a jet effect in passing through the gaps in the mountain ranges and descends on the leeward side.
Kona-
A stormy, rain bringing wind from the southwest or south southwest in Hawaii. It blows about five times a year on the southwest slopes that are in the lee of the prevailing northeast trade winds. Kona is the Polynesian word for leeward. It is associated with a southward or a southeastward swing of the Aleutian low and the passage of a secondary depression (kona cyclone) from northwest to southeast, north of the islands.
Kossava-
(Also spelled kosava, koschawa.) A cold, very squally wind, descending from the east or southeast in the region of the Danube Iron Gate through the Carpathians, continuing westward over Belgrade, thence spreading northward to the Rumanian and Hungarian borderlands and southward as far as Nish. In winter it brings temperatures down to below minus 29 degree C and it is cool even in summer, when it is also dusty. It usually occurs with a depression over the Adriatic and high pressure over southern Russia, a frequent situation in winter. It is usually explained as a jet effect wind through the Iron Gate, giving speeds well above the gradient wind, but J. Küttner (1940) regards it rather as a katabatic wind intermediate between foehn and bora. The kossava has a marked diurnal variation, with its maximum occurring between 5 A.M and 10 A.M.
Krakatoa winds-
(Also spelled Krakatau; formerly called overtrades.) A layer of easterly winds over the Tropics at an altitude of about 18 to 24 km. This layer tops the midtropospheric westerlies (the antitrades), is at least 6 km deep, and is based at about 2 km above the tropopause. This easterly current is more prominent and better defined in the summer hemisphere. It derives its name from the observed behavior of the volcanic dust carried around the world after the great eruption of Krakatoa (6 degree S, 105 degree E) in 1883.
