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Wind Direction Chelsie White Meghan Avise Sarah Avise. What is a Wind Vane?. It has a tail and nose at the center of gravity to move around the pole which forms a vertical axis. The nose is the smallest part and turns into the wind.
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What is a Wind Vane? • It has a tail and nose at the center of gravity to move around the pole which forms a vertical axis. • The nose is the smallest part and turns into the wind. • The tail is the largest part and points to where the wind is going. • This is used to measure wind direction
What are prevailing winds? • They are winds that blow most frequently across a particular region. • Different regions on the Earth have different prevailing wind directions which are determined by the circulation of the atmosphere and the latitude. • Example: Winona latitude = 44.05 degrees North • Common direction is W-SW • Prevailing winds are called SW antitrades • They generally blow from high pressure to low pressure • It does not take a direct route because of the way the Earth rotates.
Direction a North Wind Travels • The north wind blows from north to south. • The wind direction is explained by the direction the wind is blowing from. • So, east wind would be blowing east-west.
Why do we care about wind direction? • It can help predict where a storm may be heading because it gives a clue to what later weather will be like since the weather is due to wind patterns. • Most storms move from east-west, so look at the weather to the east to determine if a storm may come. • It helps sailors because it determines the roughness of the water and they might have to take a different route.