Winds, Easterlies

WINDS ARE DEFINED by their origins. The “easterly” descriptor refers to winds with an easterly zonal component (coming from the east). These include northeasterly and southeasterly winds. Easterly winds occur at all atmospheric scales, including local and synoptic. However, the term “easterly winds” generally refers to large-scale belts of winds operating within the global circulation of the atmosphere.

In the atmosphere s general circulation, two distinct bands of easterly winds exist: the trade winds and the polar easterlies. They are found at low and high latitudes, respectively, and arise from the dynamics of air flow among pressure systems.

Among the most consistent winds on earth, the trade winds (or trades) are part of the Hadley cell circulation found from approximately 0 degrees to 30 degrees north and ...