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The westerlies, anti-trades, [2] or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes (about 30 degrees) and trend towards the poles and steer extratropical cyclones in this general manner. [ 3 ]
The westerlies (blue arrows) and trade winds (yellow and brown arrows) The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere , strengthening during the winter ...
Prevailing winds are strongly influenced by Earth's overall atmospheric circulation, in addition to smaller-scale and shorter-lived weather phenomena. In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind ...
Unlike the Westerlies, these prevailing winds blow from the east to the west, and are often weak and irregular. [45] Because of the low sun angle, cold air builds up and subsides at the pole creating surface high-pressure areas, forcing an equatorward outflow of air; [46] that outflow is deflected westward by the Coriolis effect.
The Hadley and polar cells are truly closed loops, the Ferrel cell is not, and the telling point is in the Westerlies, which are more formally known as "the Prevailing Westerlies." The easterly Trade Winds and the polar easterlies have nothing over which to prevail, as their parent circulation cells are strong enough and face few obstacles ...
Discovering this technique was crucial for returning from future discoveries; for example Christopher Columbus would never have returned from the Americas without applying the volta do mar by sailing northwards from the Caribbean through the Horse Latitudes to catch the prevailing mid-latitude westerlies.
A diagram showing the relative positions of the horse latitudes. The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. [1] They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation.
Roaring Forties as they contract towards southern Australia (observed in September 1895). [1]The Roaring Forties are strong westerly winds that occur in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40° and 50° south. [2]