Wind is the movement of air masses from an area of ​​high atmospheric pressure to an area of ​​low pressure.

Wind is characterized by strength (speed) and direction. The characteristics of the wind depending on the strength are given in Table 1. The wind speed is determined by the magnitude of the pressure gradient, ie. the difference in atmospheric pressure per set unit of distance equal to 60 miles (1 ° latitude), in the direction of the pressure drop. Therefore, the greater the pressure gradient, the greater the wind speed.

Due to the rotation of the Earth, under the influence of the Coriolis force, the direction of the wind does not coincide with its baric gradient vector, but deviates in the northern hemisphere to the right, in the southern hemisphere to the left. In mid-latitudes, the deviation can reach 60 °.

The direction of the wind is taken from the point on the horizon where it blows (the wind blows into the compass). It is also customary to determine the direction of the swell, and "from the compass", in the direction to the horizon, sea currents and river currents.

The wind is not uniform in structure. It can be jet (laminar), when the air layers move without mixing, i.e. their particles do not pass from layer to layer. This air movement usually occurs in light winds. If the wind speed exceeds 4 m / s, then the air particles begin to move randomly, its layers are mixed and the air movement becomes turbulent. The higher the wind speed, the greater the turbulence, the greater the speed jumps at individual points of the air flow and the more gusty the wind becomes, and squalls appear.

A squally wind is characterized not only by frequent and sharp fluctuations in speed, but also by strong individual gusts lasting up to several minutes. A wind that sharply increases its speed for a very short period of time against a background of weak wind or calm is called a squall. Most often, squalls strike when powerful cumulonimbus clouds pass and are often accompanied by thunderstorms and downpours. The speed of the squall wind reaches 20 m / s and more, and in some gusts 30-40 m / s. In this case, unexpected wind turns up to several points can be observed.

The main cause of the squall is the interaction of the ascending air flow in the front part of the cumulonimbus cloud and the descending air cooled by the rainstorm, in the rear part of it, as a result, a characteristic swirling shaft with a vortex under it, reinforced by the vortices of the adjacent air layers, arises.

Vertical vortices in a thundercloud can form tornadoes. When the speed of such a vortex reaches 100 m / s, the lower part of the cloud in the form of a funnel descends to the underlying surface (land or water), towards the rising dust or water column. Meeting a tornado is dangerous: having a large destructive force and rotating in a spiral, he can lift up everything that comes in his way. The height of the tornado reaches more than 1000 meters, the horizontal speed is 30-40 km / h. Therefore, when you see a tornado, you need to determine the direction of its movement and immediately go to the side.

Sometimes a tornado can form without thunderclouds. In this case, it does not arise from a cloud, but on the surface of the earth or sea, often with a cloudless sky. These are "good weather" tornadoes. They degrade quickly and are practically harmless. Often their existence can be quickly noticed by the characteristic whistling sound that is heard when it moves than seen.

Air, air masses are situated in constant movement, which constantly changes both its speed and direction. But on a global, planetary scale, this movement has a clearly expressed pattern, which is determined by the general circulation of the atmosphere, which depends on the distribution of atmospheric pressure in wide areas of the globe - from the tropics to the polar zones.

In the equatorial zone, the warm air of the tropics rises upward, which leads to the formation of a wind at the border of the troposphere, called an anti-trade wind. The anti-passat spreads towards the poles, north and south, respectively.

The cooled air masses of the anti-trade wind settle to the surface of the earth, creating increased pressure in the subtropics and a wind called the trade wind, which rushes into the equatorial zone.

Under the influence of the Coriolis force, the trade winds northern hemisphere receive a northeast direction, and the southern hemisphere (except for the northern part of the Indian Ocean, where seasonal monsoon winds blow) - a southeast direction. The speed of the trade winds is also constant and reaches 5-10 m / s.

In the equatorial zone, the trade winds weaken and turn east. Therefore, between the trade winds of both hemispheres there is a calm zone (in the Atlantic "horse latitudes"), characteristic of low pressure, thunderstorms and showers, calm. In latitudes 40-60 ° of both plusharies, the winds of the western quarter prevail. They are less stable (from NW to SW), but much stronger (10-15 m / s or 6-7 points). V southern hemisphere where westerly winds sweep the entire world ocean, the main routes of sailing ships lay for sailing from Europe to Australia and back to Europe around the Cape of Good Nadazhd and Meat Horn. For their strength, recurrence (up to 50%) and frequent storms, these winds have received the nickname "brave vesty", and latitudes - "thundering forties" and "roaring sixties".

In the circumpolar regions of both hemispheres, where cold air masses of the upper troposphere are deposited, forming the so-called polar maxima, southeasterly and easterly winds prevail.

The trade winds are the first in the category of prevailing winds, i.e. constantly blowing in certain areas for a certain period of time. The speed and direction of the prevailing winds are determined by long-term observations for each sea or sea area.

Another category of winds is local, blowing only in this place or several places of the globe, occur when thermal conditions change for some time or under the influence of the terrain (the nature of the underlying surface)

The first type includes the following winds:

Breezes are formed under the influence of unequally heating of land and sea. The area essential for the formation of breezes is located in the coastal strip of the seas (about 30-40 km). At night, the wind blows from the coast to the sea (coastal breeze), and in the daytime, on the contrary, from the sea to the land. The sea breeze starts around 10 am, and the coastal breeze starts after sunset. The breeze belongs to the winds of vertical development and at a height of several hundred meters blows in reverse side... The intensity of the breeze depends on the weather. In hot summer days the sea breeze is moderately strong up to 4 points (4-7 m / s). The coastal breeze is much weaker.

Breezes can also be observed on land. At night, at the surface of the earth, there is a draft of air from the field to the forest, and at the height of the tree crowns - from the forest to the field.

Foeong is a hot dry wind that occurs when the humid air of mountain peaks flows around and is heated by the warm leeward underlying surface of the mountain slope. On the Black Sea, it is observed off the coast of Crimea and the Caucasus, mainly in spring.

Bora - very strong wind downhill in areas where the ridge borders the warm sea. Cold air rushes down to the sea with great speed, sometimes reaching the force of a hurricane. V winter time, at low temperatures causes icing. Observed in the region of Novorossiysk, off the coast of Dalmatia (Adriatic Sea) and on Novaya Zemlya. In some mountainous areas, for example, in the Caucasus near Leninakan, or in the Andes, there is a daily phenomenon when, after sunset, masses of cold air rush down from the mountain peaks surrounding the valley. Gusts of wind reach such a force that they tear off the tents, and a sharp and strong drop in temperature can lead to hypothermia.

Baku Nord - a cold north wind in the Baku zone, blowing in summer and winter, Reaches a storm force, and often hurricane force (20-40 m / s), bringing clouds of sand and dust from the shore.

Sirocco is a very warm and humid wind originating in Africa and blowing in the Central Mediterranean Sea, accompanied by cloudiness and precipitation.

Seasonal winds are monsoons, which are continental in nature and arise due to the difference in atmospheric pressure during uneven heating of the land and sea in summer and winter.

Like other winds, monsoons have a pressure gradient towards low pressure- in summer on land, in winter at sea. Influenced by the Coriolis force in the northern hemisphere summer monsoons The Pacific off the east coast of Asia they deviate to the southeast, and in the Indian Ocean to the southwest. These monsoons bring from the ocean to Far East cloudy weather, with frequent rains, drizzle and fog. At this time, prolonged and heavy rains fall on the southern coast of Asia, which leads to frequent floods.

Winter monsoons are reversed. In the Pacific Ocean they blow from the northwest, and in the Indian Ocean - from the northeast towards the ocean .. The wind speed in monsoons is uneven. Winter northeastern monsoons coincide with the trade winds of the northern hemisphere, but their speed does not exceed 10 m / s. But the summer monsoons of the Indian Ocean reach stormy power. Monsoon change - occurs in April-May and October-November.

The wind is just as important for predicting the weather as the clouds. Moreover, the weather cannot change without wind. The wind is characterized by strength and direction. The strength of the wind can be determined by its effect on land objects and the surface of the sea. Table 1 shows wind signs on a 12-point Beaufort scale.

Westerly winds usually bring softening weather, i.e. it will be cooler in summer and may rain. In winter, they are accompanied by heavy snowfalls and thaws. The north wind will definitely bring cold, whether precipitation will fall is unknown. South wind brings warmth, i.e. in winter there is a thaw with snow, in summer it can be warm without precipitation. The east wind is less predictable, it can be cold and warm, one thing is certain. He will not bring a large number precipitation neither in summer nor in winter.

Table # 1

Score	Name the wind	Speed ​​in m / s	Signs of the wind		Pressure N / m 2
			On the ground	On the water
0	Calm	0-0,5	The smoke rises up, the flag weighs calmly	Mirror sea	0
1	Quiet	0,6-1,7	The smoke is slightly deflected, the leaves rustle, the candle flame is slightly deflected	Small scaly waves without lambs appear	0,1
2	Light	1,8-3,3	Thin branches are moving, the flag flutters weakly, the flame goes out quickly	Short, well-defined waves, their crests begin to overturn, but the foam is not white, but glassy: the surface of the water ripples.	0,5
3	Weak	3,4-5,2	Small branches are swaying, the flag is waving	Short waves. The ridges form a glassy foam. Small white lambs are occasionally formed	2
4	Moderate	5,3-7,4	Big branches sway, flag stretches, dust rises	Waves get longer, foaming "lambs" are formed in places	4
5	Fresh	7,5-9,8	Small trunks swinging, whistling in the ears	The whole sea is covered with "lambs"	6
6	Strong	9,9-12,4	Trees sway, torn tents violently	Formed ridges of great height, "lambs" on the ridges of the water.	11
7	Strong	12,5-15,2	Tents are torn down, small trees bend	Waves pile up and cause destruction, the wind tears off white foam from the crests	17
8	Very strong	15,3-18,2	Thin branches break, movement is difficult, large trees bend	Height and wavelength increase markedly	25
9	Storm	18,3-21,5	Big trees break, roofs are damaged	High, mountain-like waves with long overturning crests	35
10	Heavy storm	21,6-25,1	Roofs are torn down, trees are uprooted	The entire surface of the sea turns white with foam, Rumbles in the open ice intensify and take on the character of tremors	45
11	Tough storm	25,2-29	Great destruction is taking place	The height of the waves is so great that the ships in the field of view sometimes hide behind them.	64
12	Hurricane	More than 29	Desolations occur	Mist blowing off the ridges significantly reduces visibility	St. 74

Local winds, the reasons for their formation

Afghan- dry, baking local wind, with dust that blows in Central Asia... It blows from several days to several weeks. In early spring with showers. Very aggressive. Barguzin- the mighty Baikal wind blows in the central part of the lake from the Barguzin valley across and along Baikal. This wind blows evenly, with gradually increasing power. Usually preceded by a stable sunny weather. Bizet- cold and dry north or north Eastern wind in the mountainous regions of France and Switzerland. Bora- strong impetuous cold wind blowing on the coast of seas or large lakes from mountain ranges separating the strongly cooled and warmer surface at their feet. at a speed (up to 40-60 m / s) rolls down the mountain ranges to the still not frozen sea or lake. A squally wind brings a strong cold snap; Bora lasts from several days to a week. Coast of the Adriatic Sea, near Novorossiysk (north-east wind), on the western slope of the Urals. Breeze- local wind of low speed, changing direction twice a day. It occurs on the shores of seas, lakes, and sometimes large rivers. Therefore, the daytime breeze blows from the water area to the heated coast. Night (coastal) - from the cooled coast to the heated water. Mountain-valley winds are formed in mountainous areas and change their direction twice a day. The air heats up differently over the ridges, slopes and valley floor. During the day, the wind blows up the valley and the slopes, and at night, on the contrary, it blows from the mountains into the valley and down towards the plain. Speed ​​10 m / s. Zephyr- the wind that has been prevailing in the eastern Mediterranean since spring. Here, although warm, it often brings with it rains and even storms, while in the western Mediterranean Zephyr is almost always light. Mistral- On Mediterranean coast France, a cold northwest wind, forming like the Novorossiysk pine forest. Simoom- hot dry wind in deserts North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Samum arises when the earth and air are strongly warmed up in cyclones and mainly with westerly and southwesterly winds. In this case, the air temperature can rise to + 50 ° C, and relative humidity goes up to 0%. The squall lasts from 20 minutes to 2-3 hours, sometimes with a thunderstorm. On Lake Baikal, bora has local name - sarma... This wind is generated when cold arctic air passes over coastal mountain ranges. Sirocco- hot, dry, dusty south and southeast wind from the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, arising in front of the cyclone. Above Mediterranean Sea sirocco is slightly enriched with moisture, but still dries up landscapes coastal areas France, the Apennine and Balkan Peninsulas. Most often it blows in the spring for 2-3 days in a row, increasing the temperature to 35 ° C. Crossing the mountains, on their leeward slopes it acquires the character of a foehn. Dry wind- wind from high temperature and low relative air humidity in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts, forms at the edges of anticyclones and lasts for several days, increasing evaporation, drying up the soil and plants. Dry winds are typical for the steppe regions of Russia and Ukraine, for Kazakhstan and the Caspian region. Fyong- dry, warm strong wind, gusty blowing from high mountains into valleys. Foehn is well expressed in the Alps, in the Caucasus, in the mountains Central Asia. Khamsin- dry, exhausting hot wind southern directions in northeast Africa and the Middle East. The temperature is 40 ° С, sometimes it blows 50 days a year, usually in March-May. Occurs in the front parts of cyclones moving from the deserts of North Africa. Chinook- southwest foehn on the eastern slopes Rocky mountains in Canada and the United States, as well as in the adjacent prairie areas. Accompanied by a very fast, sharp rise in air temperature Chinook is also called a humid southwestern wind from the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the United States. The reason for their formation may be different temperature conditions on the shores of lakes or rivers, in mountains and valleys. Some of them are essentially air currents of the general circulation of the atmosphere, but in a certain area they have special properties. The occurrence of local winds is mainly associated with the difference temperature conditions over large bodies of water (breezes) or mountains, their strike relative to the general circulation flows and the location of mountain valleys (fen, bora, mountain-valley), as well as with a change in the general circulation of the atmosphere by local conditions (samum, sirocco, khamsin). Some of them are essentially air currents of the general circulation of the atmosphere, but in a certain area they have special properties, and therefore they are referred to local winds and give them their own names.

The air ocean is in continuous motion. It gives rise to all weather phenomena on the globe. main reason air movement - unequal distribution of atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure does not always remain the same - it constantly changes: it rises, then decreases, rarely, however, deviating by more than 50 mb from its average value of 1013 mb (at sea level).

We will try to find out why the pressure changes and why it is not the same over different parts of the globe. The sun's rays heat the globe unevenly, as they fall at different angles on earth surface... The equator receives the most heat, the poles least of all. That's why tropical belt plays the role of a permanent heater of the atmosphere - here more heat is received from the Sun than is given to the world space. The poles are permanent refrigerators that continuously give off heat, but they receive relatively little of it.

There must be air movement between the heater and the refrigerator. Let's carry out such an experiment. In two vessels (A and B), connected at the bottom and at the top by tubes, pour water to the level of the middle of the upper tube and then start heating one of the vessels (A), and overlay the other (B) with ice. The water in vessel A will expand and its level will be higher than in vessel B; it will flow through the upper tube from A to B. But then it turns out that total weight and the pressure on the bottom of the entire column of water in vessel B is greater than in vessel A, and water will begin to flow through the lower tube from vessel B to A. Thus, a circular circulation of water will be established between the heater and the refrigerator.

This experience shows that the flow is directed from a place with a stronger pressure of the water column to a place with a less strong pressure. Upstairs more strong pressure coincides with heat, and below - on the contrary, with cold. Let's see what is observed in the atmosphere. If we calculate the average over many years Atmosphere pressure at a level, for example, 10 km in the northern hemisphere, the highest (for this level) pressure will be at the equator, the lowest at the pole, and along the parallels the pressure remains almost unchanged.

Air currents maps

Usually on geographic map pressure values ​​are applied for a given level and on these values ​​lines of equal pressure are drawn - isobars (from the Greek words "iso" - equal, "baros" - gravity, weight). Average isobars at the 10 km level pass almost exactly along the parallels: along the equator there is a strip of high pressure, and from here the pressure decreases uniformly towards the poles. The pole is at the center of the lowest pressure. Thus, the pressure in the atmosphere above is distributed in the same way as in upper parts our vessels - it decreases from heat to cold.

If we look at the map of the average atmospheric pressure for the earth's surface, we will no longer find complete coincidence with the results of our experiment. Indeed, at the pole, the pressure is increased, and at the equator, it is low, but in the interval between them, the pressure on average from the equator rises to the tropics, then decreases to temperate latitudes and rises to the poles again. Isobars here no longer pass through latitudes, but close themselves around separate centers of high and low! pressure. If we look at the daily pressure maps, then at all levels (especially near the ground) we will see an extremely changeable picture from day to day - moving, forming and again disappearing centers of high and low pressure, which do not obey any visible orders and laws.

Let us now turn to air currents: do they confirm our experience? It turns out that in almost the entire thickness of the atmosphere, the direction of the winds does not go from high pressure to low (perpendicular to isobars), but along isobars: in the northern hemisphere they leave high pressure on the right, and low pressure on the left (along the direction of the flow), in the southern hemispheres - on the contrary. Only in the lowest, surface layer of the atmosphere, the flow deviates towards a lower pressure, and it is precisely those winds that we directly feel that blow at an angle to the isobars. The reason for this is the deflecting action of the Earth's rotation.

The deflecting force of the Earth's rotation

V Everyday life we notice a spin Of the earth only by the change of day and night. Meanwhile, the rotation of the globe around its axis has a deflecting effect on all moving bodies. This deflecting action becomes noticeable only with very long inertial movements, without the action of too powerful a driving force. The movement of air in the atmosphere can be attributed to this kind of motion, since the forces of the pressure difference are very small and an air particle has to travel a long way from one area of ​​the globe to another.

We are used to determining all directions on the Earth by the sides of the horizon (to the south, to the north, etc.) and forget about the rotation of the meridians and parallels with the Earth. This is most clearly seen at the pole, around which the meridians rotate like spokes around the axis of the wheel.

It is at the pole that the deflecting force is greatest. The meridians here make a full 360 ° revolution in a day. The closer to the equator, the less the deflecting force. In the southern hemisphere, the deflection force acts to the left, not to the right.

Under the influence of the deflecting force, the air flow moves along the isobars. Why is it so? A continuously acting deflection force could deflect the wind further and further to the right (in the northern hemisphere). But when the wind deviates from the isobars to the right, it begins to blow from low pressure to high pressure against the current pressure force, and this force again returns it to the previous direction along the isobars.

The main currents of the air ocean

Air cannot move directly from high pressure to low pressure due to the deflecting force. Therefore, the exchange of heat and cold between different parts of the globe is difficult.

The deflection force is least of all near the equator: therefore, there are also less pressure differences, which are quickly equalized by currents directed almost directly from high pressure to low pressure. From approximately latitude 25 - 30 °, the deflecting force is so great that such direct currents become impossible. In the vicinity of the tropics at the top, an accumulation of air masses is obtained, which flows relatively freely from the equator, but does not have the ability to move further to the poles.

This accumulation of air masses creates streaks high blood pressure along the tropics in a layer five or more kilometers thick. The surplus of air entering the top is balanced by the continuous outflow of air in the lower layers, from the zone of increased pressure to the equator, where the wind blows at an angle to the isobars. This lower wind is called the trade wind. Thus, between the equator and the tropics, a circulation system of its own is established, similar to the scheme of our experience: above, the flow from heat to cold, below - from cold to warm.

Between the tropics and the pole, the pressure in almost all layers drops towards the pole and the wind blows from west to east, forming a huge circular vortex around the North Pole. It is because of this direction of the flow that our weather almost always comes from the west. No wonder folk omen says: "Temenza (cloudiness) at sunset - it will rain." This western stream resembles the flow of a turbulent mountain stream with eddies and whirlpools. Only when all the winds are combined does the prevalence of the westerly wind affect; in reality the winds are constantly changing.

In the general western flow, circular vortices associated with the moving areas of low and high pressure are formed, move with the flow and again disappear. In the northern hemisphere, air moves around the center reduced pressure counterclockwise rotation direction (in the southern hemisphere the direction of rotation is reversed); such a vortex is called a cyclone. A vortex rotating in the opposite direction around the center of increased pressure is called an anticyclone.

These moving vortices are due to the instability of the upper western flow. When the flow at the top deviates from the isobars, air begins to move through the isobars, either from high pressure to low pressure, or from low to high pressure. But in this case, on the side where the air comes in, the total mass of the atmosphere increases and the pressure below grows, and on the side where the air flows out, the pressure below decreases. It is these pressure changes that lead to the formation of cyclones and anticyclones.

Air currents, moving around the centers of cyclones and anticyclones, transfer heat from low latitudes to high latitudes and cold - from high to low latitudes. This is how the tropics and the poles exchange heat and cold. These currents replace each other, creating the well-known sudden changes in temperature.

Cyclones, anticyclones and fronts

Cyclones - areas of mostly cloudy weather with precipitation, anticyclones - clear dry weather. As we already know, in the very bottom layer atmosphere winds blow at an angle to isobars and air flows from high pressure to low pressure. It flows to the center of the cyclone and rises here. In the anticyclone, the opposite is true: below the air spreads from the center highest pressure, and in its place the air falls from above, flowing down from above.

When the air in the cyclone rises and is under less atmospheric pressure, it expands and its temperature decreases. With a decrease in temperature, the water vapor contained in the air begins to condense, that is, pass into water. Small water droplets appear in the air, forming clouds. In an anticyclone, when descending, the air is compressed and heated, and all cloudy droplets evaporate. This is the main reason for the different weather in cyclones and anticyclones.

But it would be wrong to think that in the entire area of ​​the cyclone the sky is completely covered with clouds and there are continuous rains. If you look at the cyclone from above, from outer space, it turns out that cloudiness in its zone is distributed mainly in the form of elongated stripes that converge in the central part of the cyclone.

The length of these strips reaches thousands, and the width is hundreds of kilometers. The distribution of clouds shows that the air rises not in the entire area of ​​the cyclone, but in its relatively narrow zones. These zones have special meaning for the formation of the weather. They are not accidentally called atmospheric fronts, since, like military fronts, they are depicted on the weather map by a line. A sharp contrast in temperature is observed along such a line - here, areas of both warm and cold air are located directly next to the ground. Above the ground, the boundary between warm and cold air is an almost horizontal surface, inclined at a very small angle to the earth's surface: cold air in the form of a wedge is located below this surface, and warm air is above it. Where the frontal surface drops to the ground is the frontline.

The front can remain stationary only under one condition: if the masses of warm and cold air flow, as if sliding along its surface, either in the same or in opposite directions. If the air flow is directed from warm air to cold air, then the front moves in this direction, warm air displaces and replaces cold air. Such a front is called warm, since it always brings warming with it. Warm air moves faster than cold air and is forced to ascend up the inclined frontal surface; he climbs, as it were, on the back of the receding cold air. The rising air is cooled, it forms whole system clouds from which rain or snow falls in an area up to 300-400 km wide. A characteristic feature of these clouds is that they are very homogeneous, resemble a veil, and only in the precipitation zone below them low torn clouds of bad weather are formed. The warm front gives the most stable and long-lasting inclement weather, since the width of the zone of its precipitation is the greatest.

Have you ever watched how bad weather comes? It is a clear day, and now at the very horizon, subtle thin cirrus clouds appear. They gradually spread throughout the sky. The sun shines almost as brightly as before, and the sky remains blue, although it has lost a little of the purity of its color. Following the cirrus clouds, a transparent veil of cirrostratus clouds approaches, the sun continues to shine, but the sky has become whitish. The veil is thickening, the sun shines like through oil paper, the sky is white and even grayish at the horizon: this is highly layered cloudiness, the surface of the front above us has sunk even lower. Now even the most unobservant person will notice that the weather is getting worse. But then the first ones fall rare drops rain. A cold damp wind is blowing. The sun is hiding behind an even gray veil of clouds. The rain is getting worse; under a veil of stratus clouds, scraps and puffs of low, torn rainy clouds rush. It's raining for several hours, and then stops, the air warms up: the warm front has passed.

If the air flow is directed from cold air to warm air, then, on the contrary, cold air displaces warm air. Such a front brings a cold snap and is called cold. Lagging behind lower layers air from the upper under the influence of friction on the earth's surface leads to the fact that the front "bulges" forward and the upper layers fall down: cold front takes the form of a rolling shaft. The warm air displaced straight up quickly rises and forms a ridge of dark clouds - cumulonimbus clouds, from which thunderstorms fall in summer, sometimes with hail, in winter - squall snowfall. Over the higher parts of the frontal surface, warm air rises more smoothly: clouds and precipitation are often formed here, similar to storm clouds and overlying precipitation of a warm front.

A cold front does not warn of its arrival, unlike a warm one. Rarely, when altocumulus clouds form in front of him in the form of flakes or lentil grains. Usually, a continuous ridge of dark clouds with snow-white peaks appears on the horizon. This ridge is rapidly approaching, stretching from one edge of the firmament to the other. The lower ragged surface of this ridge becomes visible, behind which a merging dark wall of rain can be seen. Thunderbolts, lightning, gusts of wind, and a shower of hail drummed on the rooftops. The rain becomes heavy, then gradually weakens, stops, the cloudiness breaks.

It gets cold fast: the cold front has passed

The fronts are most pronounced in cyclones, since here the lower flowing streams bring cold and warm air masses closer together and increase the temperature differences between them. In anticyclones, on the contrary, the spreading streams weaken the temperature contrasts, and therefore the fronts almost never pass through the centers of the anticyclones.

Cyclones with fronts and anticyclones continuously appear in the atmosphere, are carried by the general air flow (mainly from west to east), disappear and reappear. They also determine the capricious variability of the weather, which was mentioned at the beginning of this article. Sometimes, for a whole month or even a season, cyclones with fronts move continuously one after another through some area, precipitation falls, and inclement weather is present. Then a period of predominance of anticyclones sets in and clear dry weather sets in.

Wind designation	Name	Direction
	Tramontana	Northern. Strong, dry and cold, blowing from the north or northeast.
NNE	Tramontana greco	North-north-east. Strong, dry and cold, blowing from the north or northeast.
	Greco	Northeastern. Strong wind typical of the Mediterranean.
ENE	Greco levante	East-North-East.
	Levante	Oriental.
ESE	Levante scirocco	East-southeast.
	Scirocco	Southeastern. Warm and humid wind blowing from the Mediterranean Sea.
SSE	Ostro scoricco	South-southeast.
	Ostro	Southern, dry and warm wind.
SSW	Ostro libeccio	South-southwest.
	Libeccio	Southwestern. Cold and wet wind.
WSW	Ponente libeccio	West-Southwest.
	Ponente	West.
WNW	Ponente maestro	West-northwest.
	Maestro	Northwestern.
NNW	Tramontana maestro	North-northwest.

The complete collection of wind names is here in the wind dictionary - http://old.marin.ru/lib_wind_index_01.shtml

Information taken from the website "Cloudy harbor"

Unfortunately the site no longer exists and the link does not work accordingly.

"Over Canada the winds are evil", "Above the window a month. Wind under the window "," Hey, Barguzin, stir the shaft! " , the wind of change, finally (I don’t want to remember about the Nord-West at all) - we all know this from songs and poems. Interestingly, poetry would gain more if it used all the possible names for the winds, and there are countless of them.

Literary critics, of course, have calculated how many sayings, realizing the image of the wind, for each classic of Russian literature. It turns out a lot - more than fifty. And then there is European literature. What about Chinese poetry? And the Japanese one? A common person dispenses with a small set of different definitions of winds. We all know about a blizzard, a blizzard, a blizzard. URAGAN came from the language of the Indians (to tell the truth, there is another version about the Türkic origin of the word, but storms and storms in Central America among the tribes Quiche called "hurakan" - the one-legged god of thunder and thunder,

all bad weather and storms, and this is convincing). Chinese word dai-fyn - a big wind - has become a well-known TYPHOON. Those who paid tribute to books about travel in childhood cannot fail to remember MISTRAL - a strong, gusty, cold and dry wind of the northern directions, MUSSONS (very strong seasonal winds) and PASSATS (eastern winds to the equator).

Oh my dear, my incomparable lady

My icebreaker is sad, and my navigator looks south,

And, imagine that a star from the constellation Cygnus

Looks directly at mine through the copper window.

The wind flies directly into the same window,

Named in different places either the monsoon or the trade wind.

He flies in and flips through the letters with an obvious grin,

Unsent because the recipient is missing. (Vizbor).

How the child's imagination was influenced by the description of SAMUMA (poisonous heat) - a fiery wind, the breath of death - a hot, dry storm in the deserts or CIROKKO - a very dusty storm wind blowing from the deserts. And those who read Paustovsky should remember SORANG - according to legend, the legendary hot night wind in Scotland, observed once every several hundred years.

Many remember from the mythology BOREY - the cold north wind, in many areas of the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the deity of the north wind in Greek mythology. Or ZEPHIR - warm and humid on the shores of the Mediterranean (Greece, Italy) and the deity of this wind in Greek mythology. And also AQUILON - the cold northern in Rome and the corresponding deity. Less well known is ARGEST, the dry wind in Greece and, of course, the deity. And the wind is, for example, WHITE. This is a very good wind, probably many people love it: dry and warm wind in good weather, no precipitation. V different countries it has different names: Tongara path, Levant, Maren, Otan, Levkonotos. And on Lake Seliger either the IDLE or the Married wind blows. There is, it turns out, the Wind of France - Biz, visas - the north wind in the mountainous regions of France, Italy, Switzerland. It plays an essential role in the formation of living conditions and is accompanied by a significant cooling.

There is black biz (biz noir, biz negro), there is twilight or brown. And what beautiful names winds from the Arabs (sea and desert travelers) - ZOBAA (in desert Egypt), KASKAZI - off the southeastern coast of Arabia, IRIFI - strong dust storms in the Sahara and Morocco, sometimes bringing locust clouds to the Canary Islands. KALEMA - very strong wind and ocean surf off the western coast of North Africa with waves reaching 6 meters in height. Kalema is observed in other places of the ocean coasts - California and India. HABABAI - on the shores of the Red Sea.

Even for sandstorms there is more than one name: HABUB, JANI, HAWA JANUBI, the famous HAMSIN. And what about the Spaniards who conquered the seas and oceans? IMBIERNO, ABREGO, CRIADOR, COLLA, COLIADA, LOS BRISOTES DE LA SITA MARIA, TEMPORAL, PAMPERO in the Andes and on Atlantic coast, PARAMITO in Colombia, ALICIO in the Canary Islands, CORDONASO and CHUBASCO in Mexico. Of course, the owners of the seas of the 18-19 centuries could not keep silent, and we know many English names winds. But there are also lesser known ones. English learners come across the idiom dog days - a period of light winds and hot weather, often with thunderstorms. And in the ports of the USA and Canada, the workers called the storm with sleet, slush and splashing waves - BARBER (she scratched her skin like a bad hairdresser). In Australia, there is a thunderstorm squall DRUNK, or SKY-EYED BOB.

And it seems not at all poetic in sound, but it is possible that very glorious German names are: ALLERHEILIGENWIND - warm wind in the Alps, or MOAZAGOTL (goat's beard) - in the Sudetenland. Surely BERNSTEINWIND (amber wind) sounded in German poetry - the wind from the sea on the Baltic coast of the Kaliningrad region. In Japan, the wind has always been given great importance... The infamous KAMIKAZE is the divine wind in Japanese mythology. According to legend, in 1281 he sank a squadron of ships of Khubilai, the grandson of Genghis Khan. But there are many other winds in Japan: KOGARASHI - wind with snow, MATSUKAZE - a small breeze, autumn HIROTO, cloudy YAMASE. And a very good wind in perfect weather - SUZUKAZE. "Winds sound" in other languages ​​as well. LU, onion, feces - hot, dry, sultry and very dusty wind from the Himalayas to Delhi. (Cases of lethargic sleep leading to memory loss have been reported under Lou.)

AJINA-SHAMOL is a squally devilish wind blowing in Tajikistan and upturning trees by the roots. BATTIKALOA KACHCHAN - warm wind on the island. Sri Lanka. (He received the nickname of a madman, as it has a negative effect on the condition of some patients). TAN GA MB I L I - v Equatorial Africa and in Zanzibar, which is called violent. AKMAN, tukman - a strong snowstorm in Bashkiria, marking the transition to spring. Indonesian winds TENGGARA and PANAS UTARA, Mexican (Aztec word) - TEHUANTEPEKERO, Yakut SOBURUUNGU TYAL, Afghan BAD-I-SAD-O-BISTROZ, Bengal BAYSHAK, Nigerian, demolishing the roofs of houses - GADARI. Forty-day SHAMAL of the Persian Gulf. And what about the winds in Russia? How many snowstorms: snowstorm, blowing, windstorm, blizzard, chicken, borosho, and with it - drifting snow, dragging, crawling crawl, podderukha, diarrhea, dragging. SOLODNIK, chief - at the mouth of the Kolyma River.

BABY WIND - weak Kamchatka wind. MIDNIGHT - a northeastern wind in the north, blowing from high latitudes, on the Yenisei it is called restav, frost. PADARA is a storm with snow and wind. HVIUS, hius, hius, fiyuz - a sharp north wind, accompanied by severe frost. CHISTYAK is a fierce storm with clear skies and severe frost in Western Siberia. SHELONIK - southwest wind.

There are also common names, for example, the famous LEVAN (levant) - the east wind in the Mediterranean, Black and Azov seas (from Gibraltar to the Kuban) or GARBIY - the south sea wind in Italy, as well as on the Black and Azov seas. a high wave and is capable of throwing a fishing boat ashore.

We cannot hide from the winds. Wind I am over, and you are alive.

And the wind, complaining and crying, Shakes the forest and the dacha.

Not every pine tree is separate, but completely all trees

With all the boundless distance, Like a sailboat body

On the surface of the ship's bay. And it's not out of daring

Or out of aimless rage, And to find words in anguish

For you for a lullaby song.

Boris Pasternak

The occurrence of local winds is mainly associated with the difference in temperature conditions over large bodies of water (breezes) or mountains, their strike relative to the general circulation flows and the location of mountain valleys (fen, bora, mountain-valley), as well as with a change in the general circulation of the atmosphere by local conditions (samum , sirocco, hamsin). Some of them are essentially air currents of the general circulation of the atmosphere, but in a certain area they have special properties, and therefore they are referred to local winds and give them their own names.

For example, only on Lake Baikal, due to the difference in the warming of water and land and the complex location of steep ridges with deep valleys, at least 5 local winds are distinguished: barguzin - a warm northeastern, mountainous - northwestern wind, causing powerful storms, sarma - a sudden westerly wind, reaching hurricane force up to 80 m / s, valley - southwestern kultuk and southeastern shelonik.

Afghan

An Afghan is a dry, local dusty wind that blows in Central Asia. It has a southwestern character and blows in the upper reaches of the Amu Darya. It blows from several days to several weeks. Early spring with showers. Very aggressive. In Afghanistan, it is called kara-buran, which means a black storm or body shuravi - the Soviet wind.

Barguzin

Barguzin - the mighty Baikal wind, mentioned in the song "Glorious Sea - sacred Baikal», Blows mainly in the central part of the lake from the Barguzin Valley across and along Baikal. This wind blows evenly, with gradually increasing power, but its duration is noticeably inferior to Verkhovik. Usually preceded by stable sunny weather.

Biza

Biza (French Bise) is a cold and dry north or northeast wind in the mountainous regions of France and Switzerland. Bizet is similar to bora.

Bora

Bora (Italian bora from Greek boreas - north wind) is a strong gusty cold wind blowing on the coast of seas or large lakes from mountain ranges separating the strongly cooled and warmer (especially coastal) surface at their foothills. It forms when low mountain ranges separate the cold air over land from warm air above the water. This wind is most dangerous in frosty weather, when at high speed (up to 40-60 m / s) it rolls down the mountain ranges to the still not frozen sea or lake. Above a warm water surface, the temperature contrast between the flow of cold air and warm sea increases significantly and the bora speed increases. The squally wind brings a strong cold snap, raises high waves, and splashes of water freeze on the hulls of ships. Sometimes from the windward side of the ship a layer of ice up to 4 meters thick builds up, under the weight of which the ship can turn over and sink. Bora lasts from several days to a week. Bora is especially typical on the Yugoslavian coast of the Adriatic Sea, near Novorossiysk (northeastern wind), on the western slope of the Urals - eastern Kizelovskaya bora and others. A special type of bora is the katabatic wind in Antarctica and on the northern island of Novaya Zemlya.

Breeze

Breeze (French brise - light wind) is a local low speed wind that changes direction twice a day. It occurs on the shores of seas, lakes, and sometimes large rivers. During the day, land heats up faster than water, and a lower atmospheric pressure is established over it. Therefore, the daytime breeze blows from the water area to the heated coast. Night (coastal) - from the cooled coast to the heated water. Breezes are well expressed in summer during stable anticyclonic weather, when the difference in land and water temperatures is most significant. Breezes cover a layer of air of several hundred meters and act on the seas within several tens of kilometers. In the era of sailing, breezes were used to start sailing.

Garmatan

Garmatan is a dry and sultry wind blowing on the Guinean coast of Africa and bringing red dust from the Sahara.

Garmsil

Garmsil (Tajik: Garmsel) is a dry and hot wind of the fen type, blowing mainly in the summer from the south and southeast in the foothills of the Kopetdag and Western Tien Shan.

Mountain-valley winds

Mountain-valley winds are formed in mountainous areas and change their direction twice a day. The air heats up differently over the ridges, slopes and valley floor. During the day, the wind blows up the valley and the slopes, and at night, on the contrary, it blows from the mountains into the valley and down towards the plain. The speed of mountain-valley winds is low - about 10 m / s.

Marshmallow

Zephyr (Greek Ζέφυρος, "western") - the wind that prevails in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, starting in spring, and reaching its greatest intensity by the summer solstice. Here, although warm, it often brings with it rains and even storms, while in the western Mediterranean, Zephyr is almost always a light, pleasant wind.

Mistral

On the Mediterranean coast of France, a cold northwestern wind, forming like the Novorossiysk pine forest, is called the mistral, and a similar wind on the coast of the Caspian Sea in the Baku region is called north.

Pampero

Simoom

Samum is a sultry dry wind in the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Usually, before the oncoming flurry of samum, the sands begin to "sing" - the sound of grains of sand rubbing against each other is heard. The raised "clouds" of sand obscure the Sun. Samum arises when the earth and air are strongly warmed up in cyclones and mainly with westerly and southwesterly winds. The wind carries hot sand and dust and is sometimes accompanied by a thunderstorm. At the same time, the air temperature can rise to +50 ° C, and the relative humidity approaches 0%. The squall lasts from 20 minutes to 2-3 hours, sometimes with a thunderstorm. When you are on your own, you should lie down and cover yourself tightly with clothes. Visits the Algerian Sahara up to 40 times a year.

Sarma

On Lake Baikal, bora has a local name - sarma... This wind is generated when cold arctic air passes over coastal mountain ranges. It is named after the Sarma River, through the valley of which a cold wind from Yakutia breaks through to Lake Baikal. In 1912, this icy wind tore off a huge barge from the tug and threw it onto the rocky shore. As a result, more than 200 people died.

Sirocco

Sirocco (Italian Scirocco - strong) - hot, dry, dusty south and southeast wind from the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, arising in front of the cyclone. Over the Mediterranean Sea, the sirocco is slightly enriched with moisture, but still dries up the landscapes of the coastal regions of France, the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas. Most often it blows in the spring for 2-3 days in a row, raising the temperature to 35 ° C. Crossing the mountains, on their leeward slopes it acquires the character of a foehn. The sirocco wind brings in Southern Europe not only the red and white dust from the Sahara, which falls with the rains, turning them bloody or milky, but also the stifling heat.

Dry wind

Dry wind - wind with high temperature and low relative humidity in the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts, forms along the edges of anticyclones and lasts for several days, increasing evaporation, drying out the soil and plants. The dry wind speed is usually moderate, the relative humidity is low (less than 30%). Dry winds are typical for the steppe regions of Russia and Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea region.

Tornado

Tornado (Spanish Tornado) - strong in North America atmospheric vortex over land, characterized by extremely high repeatability, is formed as a result of the collision of cold masses from the Arctic and warm masses from The Caribbean... Several hundred tornadoes are observed in the eastern United States every year.

Fyong

Fohn (German Fohn, from Lat. Favonius - warm west wind) is a dry, warm strong wind, gusty blowing from high mountains into the valleys. It is observed in all mountainous countries... The air flows over the crest of the ridge, rushes down the leeward slope into the valley, and as it descends, its temperature rises, and the humidity decreases as a result of adiabatic heating - by one degree for every 100 m of descent. The higher the height from which the hair dryer descends, the higher the temperature of the air brought by it rises. Hair dryer speed can reach 20-25 m / s. In winter and spring, it causes rapid melting of snow, avalanches, evaporation from the soil and vegetation cover increases, the level mountain rivers... In summer, its dry breath is detrimental to plants; sometimes in Transcaucasia the summer hair dryer causes the foliage on the trees to dry out and fall off. It usually lasts less than a day, occasionally up to 5 or more. Foehn is well expressed in the Alps, in the Caucasus, in the mountains of Central America.

Khamsin

Khamsin (Arabic literally fifty) is a dry, swelteringly hot wind from southerly directions in northeastern Africa and the Middle East. The air temperature is often above 40 ° C, with a stormy wind, the khamsin sometimes blows 50 days a year, usually in March-May. Occurs in the front of cyclones moving from the deserts of North Africa, so the khamsin is saturated with sand and dust, which reduces visibility.

Chinook

Chinook (English chinook, from the name of the Indian tribe Chinook) is a southwestern Feng on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States, as well as on the adjacent prairies. It is accompanied by a very rapid, sharp (sometimes by 20-30 ° C) increase in air temperature, which contributes to increased snow melting, acceleration of fruit ripening, etc. Chinook is observed in all seasons of the year, but especially often in winter. Chinook is also called the humid southwest wind from the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the United States.

Notes (edit)

Literature

• Meteorology and climatology... Leningrad, 1968 Author - S. P. Khromov
• Prokh L.Z. Dictionary of the Winds. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1983. - 28,000 copies.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Local winds" are in other dictionaries:

LOCAL WINDS- local air circulation air currents of small horizontal length (from hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers) arising as a result of a local disturbance of a larger air flow under the influence of the peculiarities of orography and ... ... Glossary of winds

Winds in limited areas, distinguished by their speed, repeatability, direction, or other features. Underneath this common name the winds unite of various origins: 1) local circulation, independent of air currents ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Winds arising in any point or small area according to local conditions, for example: bora, Baku nord, fen, etc. Samoilov KI Marine dictionary. M. L .: State Naval Publishing House of the NKVMF of the USSR, 1941 ... Marine dictionary

FORCED CONVECTION WINDS- local winds arising from mechanical disturbance of air currents by mountain obstacles. For example, runoff, bora, mountain valley winds ... Dictionary of winds

local Russian geographic terms- In Siberian geographical literature and in the folk lexicon, there are numerous local geographical terms, that is, words that express certain geographical concepts. In addition to Russian, there are many terms in languages ​​... ... Geographic names Eastern Siberia