wind patterns
Atmospheric flow trends
Wind patterns are the regular, predictable movements of air across Earth's surface and atmosphere.
These include global circulation systems like trade winds, westerlies, and polar easterlies, as well as regional phenomena like monsoons and sea breezes.
Meteorologists study wind patterns to forecast weather, while sailors and pilots have long relied on them for navigation: The trade wind patterns made Atlantic crossings predictable.
- westerliesWinds from the sunset
- trade windsReliable equatorial air currents
- prevailing windsMost frequent directional airflow
- roaring fortiesTempestuous latitude band
- sea breezeWind from ocean to land
jet streams · polar vortex · pressure gradient · chinook · advection · shifting winds · land breeze · Coriolis effect · air currents · convection currents · sirocco · isobars · global circulation · boundary layer · air mass · solar radiation · monsoons · meteorology
- Mars climatedust storms, thin air, polar caps, ice caps, dry ice
- meteorologyweather, rain, snow, clouds, storms
- windbreeze, gale, gust, gusts, crosswinds
- coastal weatherdrizzle, overcast, ocean breeze, cloudy skies, rainfall
- sailing knowledgenavigation, knots, tides, currents, anchoring
- Antarctic climatepolar climate, ice sheets, sea ice, blizzards, ice cap
wind patternsdead calm
Complete absence of wind
stillness · windlessness · still air · stagnant air · doldrums