Melissa Constanzer explains how storms are moved by trade winds, westerlies and polar winds.

Dominant winds play a crucial role in steering storms across different regions of the world. In mid-latitudes, westerly winds move from west to east, while trade winds in tropical regions flow from east to west, both north and south of the equator. The formation of these wind patterns is driven by the uneven heating of Earth's surface, particularly at the equator where warm air rises, creating circulation cells such as the Hadley cell. 

These circulations are further influenced by Earth's rotation and the varying heating rates of land and water. Specific wind zones include the doldrums near the equator, trade winds between 5 and 30 degrees latitude, westerlies from 30 to 60 degrees, and polar easterlies above 60 degrees latitude. Each of these wind belts contributes to the global movement of weather systems.

Dominant winds that steer storms

We often hear of storms being steered by winds. They're the dominant winds in different regions of the world. If you look close to home, we have that West to East flow, what we call the westerly winds. But as you work your way towards the Caribbean and farther South, you have the trade winds which work their way from East to West. And that also occurs on the other side of the equator. So let's start by thinking about how these winds are formed. And to do that, you really have to think about how winds are formed on the Earth. First, let's think about the equator here. You can see it running. This is a region of the Earth where a lot of sunlight comes down and it warms the surface quite quickly. So whether that's ocean water or land, we have that warmth and the warm air, it rises. So we start to see that rise to the top of the atmosphere where weather is controlled. From there, it actually fans out North or South, cooling as it does so. And what does cool air do? Cool air sinks. So we see that sinking motion. Then, of course, the air comes back in to replace it. This circulation that we see here is the Hadley cell at the equator. We also get other circulations on Earth. But it's not as simple as this because the Earth is rotating, for starters. And also, that surface of the Earth doesn't heat evenly. I talked about the water versus land. Nothing's heating at the same rate. So because of that, things aren't quite as simple. However, it does lead us to a few things. First up, you've got the doldrums around the equator, whether it's five degrees North or five degrees South latitude. That's those dead winds that you find right around the equator. Then, the trade winds. Those are the East winds that form between five and 30 degrees, whether it's North or South of the equator. And those come in out of the East. Westerly winds, where we, many of us, find ourselves are the West winds between the 30 and 60 degree latitude zones. And then, farther North than that, you'll find East winds returning. Those are the polar winds. And those work their way from East to West above 60 degrees latitude.

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