Download Weather vocabulary—wind Wind: The horizontal movement of air

Weather vocabulary—wind
Wind: The horizontal movement of air caused by differences in air pressure.
Anemometer: An instrument used to measure wind speed.
Wind-chill factor: the way wind makes the temperature feel cooler than it is.
Sea breeze: A wind that blows during the day from the colder and higher pressure air over a large body
of water towards the land.
Local wind: winds that blow over short distances that are caused by differences in temperature and air
pressure in a small area.
Global winds: Winds that blow over huge distances and follow a pattern caused by the unequal heating
of the planet.
Coriolis effect: The way earth’s rotation causes global winds to curve.
Doldrums: Ring of calm air near the equator caused by warm air rising.
Horse latitudes: Ring of calm air at 30% latitude caused by cool air falling.
Polar Easterlies: Winds from the east in the polar region of a the planet.
Prevailing Westerlies: Strong winds from the west which blow from 30% to 60%. These winds cause our
weather patterns to move from west to east.
Trade winds: Winds that blow from the east in warm parts of the planet. They were used by trade ships.
Jet Stream: Narrow bands of very fast moving air about 10 kilometers above earth. Cannot be felt on the
planet, but greatly affect the movement of weather patterns on the planet. The polar jet stream
frequently affects the weather in the Boston area.