The Roaring Forties are powerful westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere between 40° and 50° latitude. They are caused by air moving from subtropical highs toward the poles. Because the Southern Hemisphere has very little land to slow the ...
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These nicknames refer to the powerful Westerlies found in the Southern Hemisphere. Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, which is broken up by large landmasses, the Southern Ocean is almost entirely water. This lack of friction allows the Westerlies to accelerate to ...
Trade winds originate in the Subtropical High-Pressure belts (Horse Latitudes). In these regions, air from the upper atmosphere sinks, creating high pressure at the surface. This air then flows toward the low pressure at the equator. Because of the Earth’s ...
This is the technical definition of trade winds. They are the surface winds of the tropical atmospheric circulation. They move from the high-pressure “Horse Latitudes” (subtropical highs) to the low-pressure “Doldrums” (equatorial lows). Because of the Coriolis effect, they blow ...
Winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction throughout the year are called “prevailing winds” (or permanent/planetary winds). These include the Trade Winds, the Westerlies and the Polar Easterlies. They are caused by the global distribution of pressure and ...