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Thermal Winds
Changes in pressure distributions with height are largely related to changes of temperature. We can
see how this can be so with reference to two adjacent columns of air in the troposphere depicted in
Fig. below.

At ground level the pressure exerted by the two is the same, but important changes ensue if we
assume that column A is warmer, and therefore less dense throughout than B. This means that for any
level higher up in the two columns, for instance at 2 km, there is a greater pressure of air still above
this level in column A than in column B. In other words, a pressure gradient from A to B gradually
develops and intensifies with height, where none existed at the surface. We can thus visualise a
gradual change of velocity of the geostrophic wind with height, the wind at the top of the air layers
being very much stronger than that lower down. Such a change of wind velocity is known as wind
shear. There is also in practice likely to be a gradual change of wind direction.

It is possible to calculate fairly easily on a vector diagram the mean wind direction and force between
the geostrophic winds at the top and bottom of a layer. This vector difference is known as the thermal
wind, since it derives from temperature contrasts in the atmosphere. It is a useful concept in
meteorology since it can be used to predict the influx of warm or cold air into a region. Fig. above
illustrates that the thickness of the atmosphere between any two pressure levels is related to
temperature. Warm air causes a large thickness, and a small thickness results from cold air. This is the
basis for the construction of a thickness chart, which is another method of plotting upper air patterns.
The usual thickness chart employed in meteorology is for the layer 1000-500 mb. On a thickness chart,
the thermal wind blows at right angles to the thickness lines, which are in effect isotherms. In the
northern hemisphere, where the Coriolis deflection is to the right, cold air always lies to the left of the
thermal wind when viewed downwind, and to the right in the southern hemisphere.

Applying this on a global scale, the gradual poleward decrease of temperature in the atmosphere from
the equator should result in a large westerly component in the upper winds, and in fact we find that
in both hemispheres most upper winds are westerly.

High-flying aircraft during the Second World War from time to time encountered upper winds of very
great velocity. These have since been the subject of considerable study and are now known to be
concentrated bands of rapid air movement, which are termed jet streams. They occur near the top of

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the troposphere, and are in reality intense thermal winds, being associated with latitudes where the
poleward temperature gradient is particularly strong. Two such zones occur in each hemisphere. One,
the subtropical jet stream, occurs at about 30° of latitude, and the other, the polar front jet stream, is
associated with the polar front zone in each hemisphere.

Jet Streams
The jet streams are defined as swift near-geostrophic winds in the upper troposphere that meander in
relatively narrow belts. These are the strong cores of upper-level westerly winds which follow a
meandering path. They follow the same course as the high-level westerlies. The main jet streams are
located near the altitude of the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere
(where temperature increases with altitude). The major jet streams on Earth are westerly winds (flowing
west to east). Their paths typically have a meandering shape; jet streams may start, stop, split into two
or more parts, combine into one stream, or flow in various directions including the opposite direction
of most of the jet. The strongest jet streams are the polar jets, at around 7–12 km (23,000–39,000 ft)
above sea level, and the higher and somewhat weaker subtropical jets at around 10–16 km (33,000–
52,000 ft). The Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere each have both a polar jet and a
subtropical jet. The northern hemisphere polar jet flows over the middle to northern latitudes of North
America, Europe, and Asia and their intervening oceans, while the southern hemisphere polar jet mostly
circles Antarctica all year round.

Other jet streams also exist. During the

Northern Hemisphere summer, easterly jets can
form in tropical regions, typically in a region
where dry air encounters more humid air at
high altitudes. Low-level jets also are typical of
various regions such as the central United
States.

General configuration of the polar and

subtropical jet streams
Cause of origin
Jet streams are caused by a combination of a planet's rotation on its axis and atmospheric heating (by
solar radiation and, on some planets other than Earth, internal heat). Jet streams form near boundaries
of adjacent air masses with significant differences in temperature, such as the polar region and the
warmer air towards the equator.

In general, winds are strongest immediately under the tropopause (except during tornadoes, hurricanes
or other anomalous situations). If two air masses of different temperatures or densities meet, the
resulting pressure difference caused by the density difference (which causes wind) is highest within the
transition zone. The wind does not flow directly from the hot to the cold area, but is deflected by the
Coriolis effect and flows along the boundary of the two air masses.

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All these facts are consequences of the thermal wind relation. The balance of forces on an atmospheric
parcel in the vertical direction is
primarily between the pressure
gradient and the force of gravity,
a balance referred to as
hydrostatic. In the horizontal,
the dominant balance outside of
the tropics is between the
Coriolis effect and the pressure
gradient, a balance referred to as
geostrophic. Given both
hydrostatic and geostrophic
balance, one can derive the
thermal wind relation: the
vertical gradient of the
horizontal wind is proportional
to the horizontal temperature gradient. This means that temperatures decreasing polewards implies that
winds develop a larger eastward component as one moves upwards. Therefore, the strong eastward
moving jet streams are in part a simple consequence of the fact that the equator is warmer than the north
and south poles.

Characteristics

Cross section of the subtropical and polar jet streams by latitude. The upper-level jets tend to flow
latitudinally along the cell boundaries.

Polar jet streams are typically located near the 250 hPa pressure level, or 7 to 12 kilometres (4.3 to 7.5
mi) above sea level, while the weaker subtropical jet streams are much higher, between 10 and 16
kilometres (6.2 and 9.9 mi) above sea level. In each hemisphere, both upper-level jet streams form near
breaks in the tropopause, which is at a higher altitude near the equator than it is over the poles, with
large changes in its height occurring near the location of the jet stream. The northern hemisphere polar
jet stream is most commonly found between latitudes 30°N and 60°N, while the northern subtropical

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jet stream is located close to latitude 30°N. The width of a jet stream is typically a few hundred
kilometres or miles and its vertical thickness often less than five kilometres (3 mi).

The wind speeds vary according to the temperature gradient, exceeding 92 km/h (50 kn; 57 mph),
although speeds of over 398 km/h (215 kn; 247 mph) have been measured. Meteorologists now
understand that the path of jet streams steers cyclonic storm systems at lower levels in the atmosphere,
and so knowledge of their course has become an important part of weather forecasting. For example, in
2007 and 2012, Britain experienced severe flooding as a result of the polar jet staying south for the
summer.

The upper level jet stream is said to "follow the sun" as it moves northward during the warm season, or
late spring and summer, and southward during the cold season, or autumn and winter. The polar and
subtropical jets merge at some locations and times, while at other times they are well separated.

Jet streams are typically continuous over long distances, but discontinuities are common. The path of
the

jet typically has a meandering shape, and these meanders themselves propagate east, at lower speeds
than that of the actual wind within the flow. Each large meander, or wave, within the jet stream is
known as a Rossby wave. Rossby waves are caused by changes in the Coriolis effect with latitude.

Index Cycle of the Jet Stream

Figure below shows different stages of the index cycle of jet streams. In the first stage the jet stream lies
quite close to the polar regions and flows from due west to east. In the northern hemisphere, the cold air
mass is found to the north of the upper-level westerlies. To the south of the jet lies the mild air of the
midlatitudes. The westerlies in this stage have shifted towards higher latitudes where there is a lot of
cyclonic activity. Pressure systems in this stage have got east-west orientation. North-south pressure gradient
is relatively steeper. The air mass exchange between the temperate and tropical regions is at its minimum.
The first stage thus represents the high zonal index.

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In the second stage, the amplitude of jet stream waves increases. The whole of the jet moves towards the
equator as a result of which there is an inroad of cold polar air southward. The warm air masses from
lower latitudes move towards higher latitudes.

In the third stage, the bends in the jet stream become sharper and the amplitude of waves registers a further
increase. At this stage the tropical air masses move farther north, and the cold polar air moves farther
south. Now, the jet stream is positioned nearer the equator and the exchange of tropical and polar air
masses takes place on a much larger scale. The temperature gradient is directed from east to west.

In the last stage of index cycle, the giant size meanders of the jet are cut off from the main stream. The result
is that an immense pool of cold and dense polar air is isolated in the upper troposphere of the lower latitudes
where it is encircled by entirely different air masses. In the upper atmosphere of higher latitudes the tropical
air masses are entrapped by the colder air. This is called the low zonal index of the jet stream. The zonal
character of the upper-level westerlies is no longer in existence. They are fragmented into a number
of cells. The last stage has been depicted in.

Major Jet streams

Polar jet
The thermal wind relation does not explain why the winds are organized in tight jets, rather than
distributed more broadly over the hemisphere. One factor that contributes to the sharpness of the polar
jet is the undercutting of sub-tropical airmasses by the more dense polar airmasses at the polar front.
This causes surface low pressure and higher pressure at altitude. At high altitudes, lack of friction allows
air to respond freely to the steep pressure gradient with low pressure at high altitude over the pole. This
results in the formation of planetary wind circulations that experience a strong Coriolis deflection and
thus can be considered 'quasi-geostrophic'. The polar front jet stream is closely linked to the
frontogenesis process in midlatitudes, as the acceleration/deceleration of the air flow induces areas of
low/high pressure respectively, which link to the formation of cyclones and anticyclones along the polar
front in a relatively narrow region.

Subtropical jet
A second factor which contributes to jet sharpness is more appropriate for the subtropical jet, which
forms at the poleward limit of the tropical Hadley cell and to first order this circulation is symmetric
with respect to longitude. Tropical air rises to the tropopause, mainly because of thunderstorm systems
in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and moves poleward before sinking; this is the Hadley
circulation. As it does so it tends to conserve angular momentum, since friction is slight above the
ground. In the Northern Hemisphere motions are deflected to the right by the Coriolis force, which for
poleward (northward) moving air implies an increased eastward component of the winds[26] (note that
leftward deflection in the southern hemisphere also leads to eastward motion). Around 30 degrees from
the equator the jet wind speeds have become strong enough that were the jet to extend further polewards
the increased windspeed would be unstable; thus the jet is limited.

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Polar night jet
The polar-night jet stream forms only during the winter months, i.e., polar nights, of the year in their
respective hemispheres at around 60° latitude, but at a greater height than the polar jet, of about 80,000
feet (24,000 m). During these dark months the air high over the poles becomes much colder than the air
over the equator. This difference in temperature gives rise to extreme air pressure differences in the
stratosphere, which, when combined with the Coriolis effect, create the polar night jets, racing eastward
at an altitude of about 30 miles (48 km). Inside the polar night jet is the polar vortex. The warmer air
can only move along the edge of the polar vortex, but not enter it. Within the vortex, the cold polar air
becomes increasingly cold with neither warmer air from lower latitudes nor energy from the sun during
the polar night.

Low level jets

The mid-level African easterly jet occurs during the Northern Hemisphere summer between 10°N and
20°N above West Africa, and the nocturnal poleward low-level jet occurs in the Great Plains of east
and South Africa. The low-level easterly African jet stream is considered to play a crucial role in the
southwest monsoon of Africa, and helps form the tropical waves which move across the tropical
Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans during the warm season. The formation of the thermal low over
northern Africa leads to a low-level westerly jet stream from June into October.

Significance of Jet Streams

Jet Stream and Surface Weather

The jet stream is said to play a very significant role in controlling the behaviour of terrestrial
atmosphere. Although weather scientists are not yet clear about the everchanging form and features of
jet stream, it is true that there is a close relationship between the jet stream and surface weather. But
the exact nature of this relationship still remains less understood.

As more and more upper-air data are made available, our knowledge about the nature and behaviour
of jet steam is bound to increase. Now, it is an established fact that the so-called polar-front jet
streams are closely related to the middle-latitude weather disturbances. The meanders of the more
northerly upper-tropospheric jet stream determine the location of the surface polar front. Besides, the
paths followed by the cyclones are also largely controlled by these upper level high velocity
westerlies. Even the distribution of precipitation by extratropical cyclones is indirectly
influenced by the jet streams aloft. Meteorologists agree that areas lying below the jet may have heavy
precipitation. The jet streams also play an important role in the movement of different air masses
which may produce a prolonged period of drought or flood. Whatever be the cause of the everchanging
patterns of the jet, there is hardly any doubt that the jet streams have important repercussions upon
the world weather.

There is no denying the fact that a clearer understanding of different aspects of the jet streams will help
the weather scientists in making a correct appraisal of the surface weather. There are evidences that the
eddies produced in these upper air streams come down to affect the cyclonic weather. Rainfall,
snowfall, thunderstorms of varying intensities, tornadoes, cold waves or snow storms are all directly
affected by the jet streams aloft.

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Besides, migration of high and low pressure cells on the surface of the earth is also directly related to
the shifting positions of the jet streams as they move around the earth. For instance, the dynamically
produced high pressure cells within the subtropical belts owe their existence to the upper westerlies
and the jet stream. Thus, it is evident that different surface weather patterns are closely linked with
changes in the path of the jet stream.

Effects of ENSO
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the average location of upper-level jet streams,
and leads to cyclical variations in precipitation and temperature across North America, as well as
affecting tropical cyclone development across the eastern Pacific and Atlantic basins. Combined with
the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, ENSO can also impact cold season rainfall in Europe. Changes in
ENSO also change the location of the jet stream over South America, which partially affects
precipitation distribution over the continent.

El Niño
During El Niño events, increased precipitation is expected in California due to a more southerly, zonal,
storm track. During the El Niño portion of ENSO, increased precipitation falls along the Gulf coast and
Southeast due to a stronger than normal, and more southerly, polar jet stream. Snowfall is greater than
average across the southern Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain range, and is well below normal
across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes states. The northern tier of the lower 48 exhibits above
normal temperatures during the fall and winter, while the Gulf coast experiences below normal
temperatures during the winter season. The subtropical jet stream across the deep tropics of the Northern
Hemisphere is enhanced due to increased convection in the equatorial Pacific, which decreases tropical
cyclogenesis within the Atlantic tropics below what is normal, and increases tropical cyclone activity
across the eastern Pacific. In the Southern Hemisphere, the subtropical jet stream is displaced
equatorward, or north, of its normal position, which diverts frontal systems and thunderstorm complexes
from reaching central portions of the continent.

La Niña
Across North America during La Niña, increased precipitation is diverted into the Pacific Northwest
due to a more northerly storm track and jet stream. The storm track shifts far enough northward to bring
wetter than normal conditions (in the form of increased snowfall) to the Midwestern states, as well as
hot and dry summers. Snowfall is above normal across the Pacific Northwest and western Great Lakes.
Across the North Atlantic, the jet stream is stronger than normal, which directs stronger systems with
increased precipitation towards Europe.

Dust Bowl
Evidence suggests the jet stream was at least partially responsible for the widespread drought conditions
during the 1930s Dust Bowl in the Midwest United States. Normally, the jet stream flows east over the
Gulf of Mexico and turns northward pulling up moisture and dumping rain onto the Great Plains. During
the Dust Bowl, the jet stream weakened and changed course traveling farther south than normal. This
starved the Great Plains and other areas of the Midwest of rainfall, causing extraordinary drought
conditions.

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Longer-term climatic changes
Climate scientists have hypothesized that the jet stream will gradually weaken as a result of global
warming. Trends such as Arctic sea ice decline, reduced snow cover, evapotranspiration patterns, and
other weather anomalies are expected to make the Arctic heat up faster than other parts of the globe.
This in turn reduces the temperature gradient that drives jet stream winds, causing the jet stream to
become weaker and more variable in its course.

Since 2007, and particularly in 2012 and early 2013, the jet stream has been at an abnormally low
latitude across the UK, lying closer to the English Channel, around 50°N rather than its more usual
north of Scotland latitude of around 60°N. However, between 1979 and 2001, it has been found that the
average position of the jet stream has been moving northward at a rate of 2.01 kilometres (1.25 mi) per
year across the Northern Hemisphere. Across North America, this type of change could lead to drier
conditions across the southern tier of the United States and more frequent and more intense tropical
cyclones in the tropics. A similar slow poleward drift was found when studying the Southern
Hemisphere jet stream over the same time frame.

Aviation
On Earth, the northern polar jet stream is the most important one for aviation and weather forecasting,
as it is much stronger and at a much lower altitude than the subtropical jet streams and also covers many
countries in the Northern Hemisphere, while the southern polar jet stream mostly circles Antarctica and
sometimes the southern tip of South America. The term jet stream in these contexts thus usually implies
the northern polar jet stream.

The location of the jet stream is extremely important for aviation. Commercial use of the jet stream
began on 18 November 1952, when Pan Am flew from Tokyo to Honolulu at an altitude of 7,600 metres
(24,900 ft). It cut the trip time by over one-third, from 18 to 11.5 hours. Not only does it cut time off
the flight, it also nets fuel savings for the airline [Link] North America, the time needed to fly
east across the continent can be decreased by about 30 minutes if an airplane can fly with the jet stream,
or increased by more than that amount if it must fly west against it.

Associated with jet streams is a phenomenon known as clear-air turbulence (CAT), caused by vertical
and horizontal wind shear connected to the jet streams. The CAT is strongest on the cold air side of the
jet, next to and just underneath the axis of the jet. Clear-air turbulence can cause aircraft to plunge and
so present a passenger safety hazard that has caused fatal accidents, such as the death of one passenger
on United Airlines Flight 826 (1997).

Future power generation

Scientists are investigating ways to harness the wind energy within the jet stream. According to one
estimate, of the potential wind energy in the jet stream, only 1 percent would be needed to meet the
world's current energy needs. The required technology would reportedly take 10–20 years to develop.
There are two major scientific articles about jet stream power. Archer & Caldeira claim that the jet
streams can generate the total power of 1700 TW, and that the climatic impact will be negligible. Miller,
Gans, & Kleidon claim that the jet streams can generate the total power of only 7.5 TW, and that the
climatic impact will be catastrophic.

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Unpowered aerial attack
Near the end of World War II the Japanese fire balloon was designed as a cheap weapon intended to
make use of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean to reach the west coast of Canada and the United
States. They were relatively ineffective as weapons, but they were used in one of the few attacks on
North America during World War II, causing six deaths and a small amount of damage.

Local Winds
Besides major wind systems of the earth's surface, there are certain types of winds, even though on
a much smaller scale, which are produced by the topographical peculiarities or local temperature
differences. These are meso-scale winds and are put in the category of tertiary circulation. Since
these wind systems are generated by purely local factors and their zone of influence is quite limited,
they have been classified as local winds, quite distinct from the large macro-scale global circulation.
Their vertical extent is rather limited to only a few thousand meters. Such local winds have their
individual characteristics, and they are given different names in different localities. Some of these
local winds have gained notoriety for producing very oppressive weather, while a few of them have
a salutary effect on the local weather.
Although these local wind systems are of little climatological importance, they play a significant role
in the weather and climate of a particular locality. Besides, these winds are important in various ways
in so far as their influence on plants and animals of the locality is concerned.
Following is a brief account of some of the well-known local winds which are found in different
parts of the world. Excepting land breeze, sea breeze, mountain breeze, and valley breeze,
the local winds are put in two broad categories: hot winds and cold winds.
Land Breeze and Sea Breeze

These winds are defined as the complete cycle of diurnal local winds occurring on sea coasts due
to differences in surface temperature of land and sea. There is a complete diurnal reversal of wind
direction of these coastal winds. That is why they are also referred to as diurnal monsoon, since

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both of these wind systems are caused by the unequal heating of land and water surfaces. The only
difference between land and sea breezes on the one hand, and monsoon winds on the other, is that
while the former is caused by the diurnal variation of pressure, the latter is generated by its seasonal
variation. Now, it is evident that the daily temperature contrast between land and sea and the
pressure pattern produced thereby generate land and sea breezes.
During the daytime, more so in summer, land is heated more than the adjacent body of water. As
a result, warmed air over the land expands producing an area of low pressure. The isobaric surfaces
bend upward as a result of which the cooler air starts moving across the coast line from sea to land.
This is the sea breeze. But at a certain height from the earth's surface, the movement of wind is
directed from coastal land to the sea. Thus, a convectional circulation system is set up. However, at
night, because of nocturnal radiation land is colder that the adjacent sea and the pressure gradient
is directed from land to sea, there is a gentle flow from land to sea. This off-shore wind is called the
land breeze.
It may be pointed out that the land-sea breeze system is very shallow. Average depth of this wind
system varies from 1,000 to 2,000 meters in tropical regions. However, over the lakes the depth of
land and sea breezes in much less. Sea breeze modifies the temperatures of the coastal areas.
Sometimes because of the sea breezes the coastal regions record a drop of 5°C to 10°C in their tem-
peratures. According to Trewartha, the cooling effect of these breezes reaches a maximum of 15 km
to 50 km inland in the middle latitudes, and 50 to 65 km in the tropical regions. But under favourable
conditions the cooling effect of the sea breezes can be felt upto a distance of about 100 km inland in
the tropics.
Sea breezes usually begin a little before noon, say, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., and reach their
maximum intensity in the mid-afternoon when their velocity ranges from 10 to 20 kilometers per hour.
Sea breezes are also generated along the shores of the large lakes, but they are relatively much
weaker in strength. In summer, the large cities situated near the lakes feel the impact of lake-effect
where the areas near the shore are cooler than the outlying areas. Chicago, because of its location
near a lake, offers a typical example of experiencing the lake-effect where lake side areas are cooler
than the much warmer outlying areas in summer.
In the morning and evening, when the difference in temperature between land and water is at its
minimum, the sea breezes die down. The intensity of cool sea breeze is directly proportional to the
temperature contrast over land and water bodies.
There is a marked regional variation in the velocities of land and sea breezes. In the temperate
region the wind velocity is limited to 25 to 40 km per hour, while in tropical regions the land and
sea breezes sometimes become stormy. Wherever the coastal regions are flanked by cold currents,
the pressure gradient becomes very steep which results in very strong land and sea breezes.
Undoubtedly, the cool sea breezes have an important moderating influence on the climate of a narrow
coastal belt. It is because of these sea breezes that in summer, when the weather is clear, the
maximum diurnal temperature is not allowed to rise very high. That is why the coastal areas have
always lower temperatures than those situated away from the coasts.
Land breeze is just the reverse of the sea breeze. It is an offshore night wind which develops because
of the cooling of land by nocturnal radiation. During night the land becomes colder than the
adjoining water, so the air over land becomes colder and denser than that over water. Now, there
is higher pressure on land and lower pressure on water. Thus, the pressure gradient is reversed.
Because of this difference in pressure, the surface air moves from land to sea. This offshore wind
is called the land breeze. Since temperature contrasts during night time are relatively less than
daytime temperature differences, the land breezes are not so strong as the sea breezes. Besides,
the horizontal and vertical extent of these off shore winds is also less than that of sea breezes. These

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land breezes reach their greatest intensity shortly before sunrise, but as the sun ascends higher
in the sky, these winds become progressively weaker and eventually die out.
Land-and-sea breezes are experienced on the subtropical and tropical islands in fully developed form.
Under cloudless sky the islands in the Pacific Ocean and West Indies have the maximum development
of sea breezes. The formation of 'atoll clouds' over numerous islands is a phenomenon of daily
occurrence. These typical clouds are commonly associated with atolls, hence they are referred to as
atoll clouds.
The land-and sea-breeze fogs are produced in the coastal regions in nearly all seasons by these local
winds. This type of fog may be transported over coastal land by sea breeze in mid afternoon. When
the sea breeze stops during night time the fog recedes to the sea.
Land and sea breezes, like any other local winds, have a significant influence on environment.
These small-scale winds prove helpful in coastal navigation, particularly in case of small crafts.
Besides, when the sea breeze moves far inland over some tropical islands or other localities, they
bring great relief to the inhabitants of those areas who aptly call the local winds 'the doctor'.
The intensity of land and sea breezes is largely controlled by the location and time of the year.
Warm tropical areas, where intense solar heating persists throughout the year, experience stronger
and more frequent sea breezes than the middle latitude locations. Tropical coastlines adjacent to the
cool ocean currents are the most favoured locations for the development of most intense sea
breezes. In the temperate zone the sea breezes are most common during summer months, but land
breezes are often missing because land does not cool below the ocean temperature. Land and sea
breezes do not develop in the higher middle latitudes simply because frequent migration of pressure
systems generally dominates the circulation.

Mountain and Valley Breezes

These day-time upvalley winds and nightly downvalley winds are commonly found in the
mountainous regions. In other words, these diurnal wind systems develop frequently over areas with
large differences in relief. These winds are chiefly caused by temperature differences between two
points at the same elevation, but with a different distance from the earth's surface. During daytime
the slopes of mountains heat up rapidly because of intense insolation, but the free atmosphere at
the same elevation over the lowlands is not heated to the same extent. This results in warm air moving
up along the slope. This upslope breeze is called the valley breeze. Anabatic wind is another name
given to valley breeze. The valley breeze is sometimes accompanied by the formation of cumulus

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cloud near mountain peaks or over escarpments and slopes. Occasional afternoon thundershowers
on warm and humid days may also be produced by this kind of upslope winds in the mountainous
regions.
However, at night the temperature difference between mountain slopes and free atmosphere at the
same elevation is reversed. Nocturnal radiation brings about a more rapid cooling of the mountain
slopes as a result of which the cool air drains into the valley below. This down-slope wind is called the
mountain breeze. That is why the cold and dense air pockets are found in the lowest spots.
Mountain breeze is also called the Katabatic wind. These downslope breezes produce radiational
fogs in the valleys, particularly during the cold season. Valley breezes are more common in
summer, while mountain breezes have greater preference for cold season.
There are large regional variations in the pattern of these wind systems. These breezes may occur
over a single mountain or valley, along mountain ranges or escarpments or they may occur
between extensive mountains and lowlands.
Valley breezes are generally more intense and more persistent. In summer when the insolation is
very strong, these winds continue even after sunset. Sometimes they persist throughout the night.
In the Himalayan ranges this is the common feature. On occasions these breezes reinforce the
prevailing winds on the windward slopes of mountains and cause heavy orographic rainfall. Such a
type of rainfall is maximum in the afternoon which coincides with the period of maximum insolation.
On the leeward slopes of mountains, the valley breezes are usually suppressed by the winds of
general circulation.

Hot Local Winds

Local winds that are hot are caused by the advection of hot air from a warm source region. They may
also be produced by dynamic heating of air as it descends from an elevated area to a lowland.

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Foehn: Foehn is a warm and dry wind on the lee side of a mountain range. Its high temperature is
largely due to adiabatic heating during its descent down the mountain slopes. These warm, dry and
gusty winds are common on the northern side of the Alps in Switzerland. With the arrival of these
winds there is a great and rapid rise in temperature. The foehn-type winds occur when air origin-
nating elsewhere must pass over a mountain range. These winds are invariably initiated by the
advance of an upper-level low-pressure centre.
When a relatively moist west wind crosses a mountain range, a low-level pressure trough is formed
on the lee side of mountain. As the upper system crosses the mountain, the air descends on its
leeward slopes and is heated by compression. Thus, high temperature and low relative humidity
of the foehn winds result from the adiabatic heating of the down-slope winds.
Foehn winds intensify on the windward slope of the mountain barrier and have ascending motion
with resultant condensation and precipitation. The ascending air currents cool at the moist
adiabatic rate (about 6° Celsius per kilometer), but the same air, while descending on the lee side
of the mountain chain, is heated at dry adiabatic rate (10° Celsius per kilometer). Thus, these
downslope winds are considerably warmer and drier than the air of that area. In winter and early
spring, rapid melting of snow is caused by such warm and dry winds. In this way, foehn winds are
helpful in spring farming. Being associated with the passage of extratropical cyclones, these local
winds occur mainly during the cold season. It summer, they are quite rare.
The beginning of a foehn is marked by a sharp rise in temperature and a sudden drop in the relative
humidity of air. Sometimes, the sudden rise in temperature accompanying such winds proves
damaging to the standing crops. These warm and dry winds bring a drastic change in local weather.

Chinook: Like foehn these winds are also very warm and dry. On the eastern slopes of the Rocky
Mountains in Wyoming and Montana, these local winds are called Chinooks. The mode of origin of
these winds is similar to that of the foehn-type winds. They are more common in winter and early
spring. Under favourable conditions such winds may occur over any mountain range. Although the
actual temperature of these winds is only about 4.4° Celsius during the cold season, the affected area
may be having below freezing temperatures. Thus, in comparison with the prevailing low
temperatures all around, these winds bring about a drastic change.
With the onset of this warm and dry wind, the snow present on the ground rapidly melts away. At
times, these winds are so dry that inspite of their below freezing temperatures the entire snow
cover on the ground disappears by the process of sublimation. That is why these winds are called
Chinook, which literally means 'snow eater'.
An increase of about 22° Celsius in the temperature of the air of the locality affected by chinook within
24 hours is nothing unusual. In Montana the air temperature at a place named Kip registered a record
increase of 19° Celsius in a very short period of seven minutes. At Denver, Colorado, a temperature
rise of 14° Celsius occurred in two hours with the onset of a chinook on 27 January, 1940 shortly
after midnight.
The effect of chinook-type winds is not only limited to the foot of mountains, but it may also
extend upto hundreds of kilometers away from them. In the western part of the Great Plains in North
America, the chinook proves beneficial to ranchers, because the grasslands are kept free from
snow during much of winter and early spring. It is due to the occasional onslaughts of these warm
and dry winds that the severity of winter in the western part of the Great Plains is much reduced.
However, these benefits are offset by the loss of soil moisture that the snow would have provided by
its melt water, had it not been evaporated earlier.
Santa Ana: Santa Ana is a warm and dry local wind that occurs in the United States of America.
It resembles Chinook. This hot and desiccating wind is experienced in Southern California where it

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blows out from the Santa Ana Canyon towards coastal low lands. This wind occurs when cold air
accumulates in the Great Basin and starts overflowing through the mountain valleys and spreads
out on to lowlands. Recent investigations show that the air reaching down the low lands, in fact,
starts several hundred meters above the mountain peaks in free air. Santa Ana-type winds are so
warm and dry that they pose a great danger to California!! orchards. Under their impact the trees
get dried up and there are large- scale forest fires. Sometimes these dry winds are laden with so
much of fine dust particles that breathing becomes troublesome.
Similar warm and dry winds that blow down the steep valleys in Japan are called Yamo. Such winds
blowing down the Andean valleys to the plains of Argentina in South America are named as zonda.
In the valleys of Central Europe, they are called tramontane.
Sirocco: Sirocco is the local name given to hot, dry and dusty winds blowing from Sahara Desert
over central Mediterranean and southern Italy in front of an advancing depression. In general, the
term sirocco is applied to any hot wind associated with the warm sector of an advancing
extratropical cyclone and heated by passing over hot and dry land area. Moving depressions over the
Mediterranean Sea draw hot and dry air from over Sahara. On the southern coast of the
Mediterranean, hot, dry and dust laden winds persist for several days together. These winds have
a relative humidity of 10 to 20 per cent. The presence of dust particles makes the atmosphere so
turbid that even the sun is hardly visible. The sirocco which extends to southern France and Italy
is warm and humid, because it picks up moisture from over the Mediterranean. These winds are
called levech in Spain and leste in Madeira and Morocco. The warm air-mass type hot northerly wind
in Australia is called a brickfielder.
Khamsin: It is a hot, dry, southerly wind that bows in Egypt in spring time. Since these local winds
have their origin in hot deserts, they are not only hot but also carry a lot of fine sand particles.
Whenever temperate cyclones pass over the Mediterranean, such dust storms originating in the hot
deserts occur on their forward side.
Simoom: Simoom is an intensely hot and dry wind of the Asiatic and African deserts. They take
their origin from the warm tropical continental air masses. These winds are very dusty and
suffocating. They produce very oppressive weather.
Harmattan: Harmattan is a dry, dusty wind of the west coast of Africa blowing from the deserts.
These winds also originate in Sahara Desert in winter. These dry and dusty winds blowing towards
Guinea, where the air is hot and humid, provide some relief to the inhabitants of the affected area.
In hot and humid regions, harmattan has a cooling effect because of the process of evaporation
taking place in them.
Many other warm and dry winds are known to occur in different regions of the world. Blackroller is
the local name given to a very strong and dust-laden wind blowing from the south-west or north-
west in the Great Plains of North America. There is so much of sand particles in these winds that at
times buildings falling in their path are buried under the heaps of sand. They cause tremendous
economic loss to the affected regions. Shamal is a similar warm and dry northeast wind blowing in
Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf.
Cold Local Winds
There are certain local winds which are cold and dust-laden or cold and raw. These local winds occur
under different conditions. Some of the cold air-mass type winds are discussed below.
Mistral: Mistral is a cold northwest wind that blows into the western Mediterranean basin from
higher elevations to the north. These winds are of common occurrence during winter months. They
are extremely cold and dry. Mistral descends from the high Auvergne Plateau to the Rhone Valley

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on the southern coast of France. Such stormy, cold northerly winds are experienced from the
mouth of Ebro to the Gulf of Genoa along the Mediterranean coast.
Bora: In the region of eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, a cold, dry northeasterly wind blowing
down from the mountains is called bora. These winds blow in very strong gusts with velocities
ranging from 128 km to 196 km per hour. Along the northeastern shore of the Adriatic Sea a narrow
coastal plain is flanked by the Istrian Plateau where an anticyclone develops in winter as a result of
which the air becomes very cold. The accumulation of very cold and dense air under the pull of
gravitation descends the slopes of the plateau as a cold and gusty wind. In the winter season,
however, wind is strongly influenced by the general pressure distribution and cannot be ascribed to
purely local causes.
These downslope winds, no doubt, are warmed by their descent, but even then they are colder than
those along the coastal lowlands. The bora sometimes rushes to the sea at a speed of 160 km per
hour. This type of wind is often associated with the passage of an extratropical cyclone. Bora-type
winds bring unusual and prolonged subfreezing temperatures along the coastal lowlands during
winter. The bora of the northern Adriatic is a typical example of 'fall winds'. Similar winds also
occur on the northern Black Sea coast, in Japan, northern Scandinavia and Novaya Zemlya. These
winds occur specially during the winter. At times, they may attain hurricane force at the foot of
mountains and may cause tremendous property damage.
Blizzard: It is a violent and extremely cold wind laden with dry snow picked up from the ground.
Blizzard represents a severe weather condition characterized by very low temperatures, strong
winds, and a great amount of snow. Originally this term was used for the snow storms of Great
Plains to the east of Rocky Mountains in the United States of America. These severe storms originate
from the anticyclones in the rear part of a moving depression. These cold winds have subfreezing
temperatures and carry abundant supply of ice-crystals and snow. But, now, the term is used for the
winds laden with dry snow blowing in higher latitudes. Such blizzards are of common occurrence in
the Antarctic. Wind velocity, on occasions, reaches 120 km to 160 km per hour and the temperature
is as low as -7° Celsius.

Other Local Winds

Extremely cold northeasterly or easterly winds blowing in eastern Russia and central Siberia are
called buran. Snowladen cold winds blowing out from the Russian Tundra are named as purga. On
certain occasions, these local winds are very intense and violent. With the onset of these winds the
coldest weather is experienced in the affected area. In France, extremely cold winds occurring in
winter are called bise. In southern Spain they are known as levanter, which is a strong easterly wind
of the Mediterranean, particularly in the Strait of Gibralter. It produces damp and foggy weather.
Norther is another cold northerly wind which occurs in winter over the region from Texas southward
across the Gulf of Mexico and the western Caribbean. These winds originate from the winter
anticyclones prevailing over the southern United States. Similarly, the northwesterly cold wind
blowing from the pampas of South America is called pampero. Off the coast of Argentina it
blows from July to September. Sometimes dust-storms accompany 'these strong winds which,
under favourable conditions, may yield precipitation. During the colder part of the year a strong to
violent northeast wind blows in the Gulf of Papagayo, on the northwest coast of Costa Rica and in the
adjoining Pacific coastal water. This local wind is called papagayo, after the name of the gulf.
Tehuantepecer is still another local name given to a strong northerly wind blowing in southern
Mexico and northern Central America. Friagem of the Amazon Valley and the haboob of Sudan are
similar cold winds of local origin. The onset of these local winds lowers the temperature considerably.
Such winds may persist for 3 to 5 days.

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Besides the above-mentioned local winds, there are a few more such as, cat's paw; cordo-nazo.
gregale, chubasco, etc. which blow in various parts of the world under different localconditions.
Some of the local winds may be warm, while others may be cold and dry. Some are associated
with warm air-mass, while the others may be of cold air-mass type. It may be pointed out that these
local winds are invariably associated either with a cyclone or an anticyclone. Whatever be the case,
they have a great impact on the weather and climate of the locality they visit.
All the cold winds, which originate when a large mass of cold air accumulated over a high-and area
descends into the valleys and lowlands, are designated as gravity winds or katabatic winds or fall
winds or drainage winds. In different locations they are given different names such as mistral, bora,
willywaw, etc. All of these winds are, in fact, downslope winds.

The local winds that are extremely hot or cold affect the environment in various ways. They exert a
great stress on animals as well as vegetation. They also transport atmospheric pollutants from one
region to another. But there are certain categories of local winds like the see breeze and the land
breeze that are most welcome features of the environment for the people living in the coastal
regions.

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