The Chivela Pass is a narrow mountain pass in Sierra Madre Mountains that funnels cooler, drier air from the North American Continent through southern Mexico into the Pacific. These northeasterly winds, specifically the Tehuano wind, which periodically blows across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, have important climatic effects such as hurricanes, typhoons, and worldwide events such as El-Nino.[1]
Conversely, cold dense air occasionally flows from the Gulf of Mexico through the Chivela Pass in the Sierra Madres, into Gulf of Tehuantepec on the Pacific side. These winds can be strong enough to sandblast paint off ships.[2]
