Different Types Of Winds

Based on the above classification of winds, there are different types of winds in the atmosphere. These different types of winds blow based on their conditions and geographical locations.

Trade Winds

Trade winds are also known as the tropical easterlies. Due to the Coriolis Effect and Ferrel’s law, trade winds blow from the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Trade winds start from the sub-tropical high-pressure areas towards the equatorial low-pressure area belt. In the Northern Hemisphere, trade winds blow as northeastern trades; in the Southern Hemisphere, trade winds blow as southeastern trades. The average speed of trade winds is between 5 and 6 meters per second, which sometimes goes as high as 13 meters per second, depending on the condition of the atmosphere.

The Westerlies

The westerlies are also known as shrieking sixties, furious fifties, and boring forties. These types of winds flow from subtropical high-pressure belts to subpolar low-pressure belts. The flow of westerlies that are from the Southern Hemisphere is more strong and constant as compared to westerlies that flow from the Northern Hemisphere. The Westerlies had a lot of impact on the ocean currents, and due to these winds, the strong Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the continent at a speed of 2.5 miles an hour.

Polar Easterlies

The Polar Easterlies are the type of winds which are cold and permanently dry. The flow of polar easterlies is from the northeast to the southwest direction in the Northern Hemisphere and the southeast to the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere—the Polar Easterlies blow from high-pressure polar areas to the subpolar low. The polar easterlies are one of the five primary wind zones comprising our atmosphere’s circulatory system. They are known as wind belts.

Monsoon Winds

Monsoon winds blow in the low latitude climate and reverse their directions periodically between summers and winters. Monsoon winds usually flow from land in winter and from water to land in summer. This type of flow results in severe changes in temperature and precipitation patterns of the area, which are affected by monsoons. Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Himalayan wall create the temperature difference that forms the basis of monsoon in the Indian subcontinent. The vertical speed of the Monsoon Winds ranges between 10 to 50 meters per second.

Land Breeze and Sea Breeze

Land Breezes are the wind that flows from land to sea and has no moisture content, while Sea Breezes are the wind that flows from sea to land and carries some moisture. Land Breeze is warm and dry, contrary to Sea Breeze. Sea Breeze normally occurs during the monsoon and the spring season. The speed of the Land Breeze ranges between 5 to 8 knots, while the speed of the sea breeze ranges between 10 to 20 knots.

Mountain and Valley Breeze

In mountainous regions, the slopes get warmed up during the daytime, resulting in the flow of breeze up to the slope to fill the resulting gap; this wind flow is known as valley breeze. On the other hand, the slopes get cooled during the night, and dense air descends the valley; this wind flow is known as the mountain breeze. The speed of the mountain and the valley breeze generally ranges between 5 to 10 miles per hour.

A moving air caused by the difference in the air pressure is called wind. The movement of the wind is from a high-pressure area to a low-pressure area to maintain the balance in air pressure. The more disparity in the air pressure, the faster the wind blows.

In this article, We have discussed the Types of winds in Detail.

Let’s dive right in.