5 winds blow from around 30 degrees north and south

5. Winds blow from around 30 degrees north and south of the equator toward the equator. Coriolis curves those
winds right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere. These are the Trade Winds,
Northeast and Southwest.
6. It moves toward 60-degrees north and south; these are the Polar Easterlies.
7. The prevailing westerlies; from west to east in both
8. It is the doldrums and is a low pressure zone so there is lots of precipitation.
9. It is the horse latitudes and is a high pressure zone so there is little precipitation.
10. The sinking air is dry and as it sinks it warms up.
11. Cold air from the polar regions and warmer air from toward the equator.
Review
1. What is a jet stream? What is "the" jet stream?
2. Why does a flight across the United States from San Francisco to New York City takes less time than the
reverse trip?
3. Where on a circulation cell is there typically precipitation and where is there typically evaporation?
Review Answers
1. A jet stream is a fast flowing river of air where there is a large temperature difference between two air masses.
"The" jet stream is where the polar cell and the Ferrel Cell meet so relatively warm and relatively cold air
meet.
2. The westerly winds go from west to east at this latitude. They push an airplane from SF to NYC going in that
direction but the airplane goes against them in the other direction.
3. Where air is rising i cools and loses precipitation. Where air is sinking it warms and there is evaporation.
57

1.17. Local Winds www. c k12 .org
1.17
Local Winds
• Describe the different types of local winds and explain how they are created.
• Explain how types of local winds influence climate.
How can they stand up?
When you try to walk against a 20 mile an hour wind it’s not easy. Just standing up is like walking really fast!
Local Winds
Local winds result from air moving between small low and high pressure systems. High and low pressure cells are
created by a variety of conditions. Some local winds have very important effects on the weather and climate of some
regions.
Land and Sea Breezes
Since water has a very high specific heat, it maintains its temperature well. So water heats and cools more slowly
than land. If there is a large temperature difference between the surface of the sea (or a large lake) and the land next
to it, high and low pressure regions form. This creates local winds.
• Sea breezes blow from the cooler ocean over the warmer land in summer. Where is the high pressure zone
and where is the low pressure zone ( Figure 1.21 )? Sea breezes blow at about 10 to 20 km (6 to 12 miles) per
hour and lower air temperature much as 5 to 10
o
C (9 to 18
o
F).
• Land breezes blow from the land to the sea in winter. Where is the high pressure zone and where is the low
pressure zone? Some warmer air from the ocean rises and then sinks on land, causing the temperature over
the land to become warmer.