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What are the global wind patterns?

Published On: Jul 28 2011 11:54:57 AM EDT

The region of Earth receiving the Sun's direct rays is the equator.

Here the air is heated and then rises, leaving low pressure areas behind.

Moving to about thirty degrees north and south of the equator, the warm air from the equator begins to cool and sink.


Between thirty degrees latitude and the equator, most of the cooling sinking air moves back to the equator and the rest of the air flows toward the poles.

The air movements toward the equator are called trade winds, which are warm, steady breezes that blow almost continuously.

The Coriolis Effect makes the trade winds appear to be curving to the west, whether they are traveling to the equator from the south or north.

Between thirty and sixty degrees latitude, the winds that move toward the poles appear to curve to the east.

Because winds are named from the direction in which they originate, these winds are called prevailing westerlies.

Prevailing westerlies in the Northern Hemisphere are responsible for many of the weather movements across the United States and Canada.

At about sixty degrees latitude in both hemispheres, the prevailing westerlies join with polar easterlies to reduce upward motion.

The polar easterlies form when the atmosphere over the poles cools, causing the cool air to then sinks and spreads over the surface.

As the air flows away from the poles it is turned to the west by the Coriolis effect, but since these winds begin in the east they are called easterlies.