Re: [metatuning] wind currents - with pictures

hi Jeff,

> From: "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@...>
> To: <metatuning@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 7:22 AM
> Subject: [metatuning] wind currents - with pictures
>

> Hm OK, found this:
>
> http://geosun1.sjsu.edu/~dreed/onset/exer12/3.html
>
> (scroll down to picture of pacific wind circulation off the US pacific
> coast)
>
> which is as I described.
>
> But also confirms Monz's idea - I can see some west to east action there
off
> the California coast, though the over-all trend is north to south.
> (obviously constrained by the coastal range) Can also understand that in
> areas where there is a pass through the mountains, the wind will be able
to
> move in towards the deserts - which explains both the Alpine situation and
> the LA situation.
>
> <etc.>

you can see from watching any TV or internet weather map
that the weather patterns which begin over the Pacific and
affect California eventually make their way all the way
across North America, if they don't die out or transmogrify
along the way. point is, the prevailing winds in N. America
are from west to east.

i knew this long ago because of my interest in bicycling
as a kid -- the across-the-USA bike rides always (AFAIK)
start in California and end in New York or Florida, never
the other way around. fighting a headwind for 3,000 miles
would be too much for most cyclists! (altho i'm sure there
are some fitness freaks who've done it.)

another thing about the effect mountains have on wind:
where there's a mountain range, it acts as a barrier to
prevailing winds (as in east San Diego County), but a
single big mountain peak will play all kinds of havoc
with wind patterns.

i also know that you're basically correct about the northern
hemisphere = clockwise and southern hemisphere = counterclockwise
thing for ocean currents, but i'm not sure if that applies
to winds either.

- monz