What is Wind?

Over the course of time, theories on the nature of wind have ranged from “it is the breath of the gods speaking to us” to “it is caused by the trees waving their leaves.” Now we know, the very simple definition is, it is the flowing of air, caused by the warming and cooling of air temperatures.

Wind direction

A west wind blows from the west to the east, and a weathervane, used to tell the direction of the wind, points in the direction from which the wind is blowing. A simple way to tell wind direction is to wet you finger and hold it up in the air – the side that feels cool immediately is the side from which the wind is blowing.

Trade Winds

The trade winds are a large band of flowing air occupying much of the tropic zone. They blow from the sub-tropical high-pressure systems into the equatorial low-pressure troughs and can blow steadily for many days at a time, making them the most constant on the earth. In the early days of travel and exploration, it was the trade winds that allowed the British, Spanish and other civilizations to travel great distances, discover new lands, and trade exotic goods from far away, which business resulted in the rise of great nations. The trade winds are among the most legendary in history.

Doldrums and Horse Latitudes

These are two major bands of light winds that circle the earth and blow constantly. The doldrums circle at the equator, and the horse latitudes at approximately 20 degrees north and south. The horse latitudes are unfaltering areas of high pressure which cause the permanent dry conditions of many of the worlds deserts. In the ocean, these areas of weak winds would becalm ships for weeks at a time, so long in fact that supplies would run dangerously low and the burden of horses on board would be thrown over, in order to save food and water for the sailors.

Chinook

The Chinook wind is a warm, dry wind that blows through the rocky mountains in the northwest of North America. It is welcomed by the residents of British Columbia and Alberta in the dead of winter, because the warm wind can melt up to a foot of snow in one day, and provide spring-like temperatures of +10 or 15 degrees celcius – a welcome break in a 40 below winter.

Aeolian Sounds

These are the haunted, whistling sounds of the wind blowing through the trees or wires in a lonely night. They are caused by the eddies in the air flow produced by long circular objects, such as the aforementioned tree branches or telephone wires. The shape of these and the wind blowing fast along them produce whistling and humming sounds, similar to the sound produced when you blow on the opening mouth of a bottle.