Winds
By: Allison Goegel
General Information
Definition
Air that runs parallel to the ground.
What Causes Wind?
Wind is caused by unequal heating of earth's surface. Another way wind is caused is difference in air pressure.
Local Winds
Local winds blow low in the atmosphere. Often, this kind of wind changes speed and direction. This kind of wind also blows low in the atmosphere; you can always feel them. There are two main types of local winds, such as land and sea breezes...
Land Breeze
A land breeze is a type of local wind that blows from land to an ocean or lake. This breeze often occurs at night time when the temperature on land cools down and the temperature at sea warms up.
Sea Breeze
A sea breeze is a type of local wind that runs from the sea to land. this type of breeze occurs normally during the day when the lands warms up and the sea cools down.
Global Winds
Global winds are caused by unequal heating of earth's surface. This type of wind runs worldwide, unlike local winds. There many types of global winds, but the ones I will be sharing with you are prevailing westerlies, polar easterlies, jet streams, and doldrums.
Prevailing Westerlies
This type of global wind, runs between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They move toward the polar regions while curving to the east.
Jet Streams
Jet streams are a fast moving river of air. They run usually about 12 kilometers above earth's surface. Normally, airplanes will use this river of air to fly faster to there destination.
Polar Easterlies
At 60 degrees latitude in each hemisphere, lay the polar easterlies. This wind forms when the atmosphere over the poles, cool. They normally flow towards the west.
Doldrums
A doldrums is an area of calm weather. It normally lays about 0 degrees laditude. Since the trade winds from north and south collide, it makes the doldrums.