Wind is a familiar and natural phenomenon, but it is interesting to figure out how it is formed and whether it can blow from different directions at the same time?
Scientists have identified many varieties of winds, which differ in speed, strength, spread, source of origin, etc. The main criteria are strength, duration and direction. In weather forecasts, you can often hear different names for wind. For example, a gust of wind is a strong movement of air for several seconds. A squall is a strong wind blowing for a minute. There are also storms, storms, typhoons, hurricanes - all these are the names of winds of varying strength and duration.
What causes the wind? The main reason for its formation is the difference in atmospheric pressure. The surface of the earth is heated unevenly. Warm air is lighter, while cold air is denser and heavier. The wind is characterized by the direction of flows from the high pressure area to the low pressure area. It happens as follows. Near the ground, the air heats up and rises. Accordingly, the pressure on the earth's surface decreases due to a decrease in air density. The heated air at the height cools down again, spreads, becomes denser and sinks nearby. The pressure on the surface of the earth increases. As a result, this cooled air moves to the area where it was just heated. Thus, due to this circulation, wind appears. The more significant the difference in pressure, the stronger and faster the wind.
There are also constant winds called monsoons and trade winds. They arise in a similar way, but on a larger scale. Monsoons are winds that change direction twice a year. They are best expressed in the tropics (in the Indian Ocean region). Over the Eurasian continent in the summer they move from the ocean towards the land. In winter, the direction changes in the opposite direction.
Direction of the wind
Direction is one of the main parameters of air. In meteorology, the azimuth of the point from which it blows is indicated as the direction of the wind. For example, if you conditionally direct one arrow to the north, and the other to an object, then the angle formed between them is the azimuth. To measure the direction of the wind, special devices are used - windsocks, wind gauges, weather vanes, etc. The wind can blow not only from two sides, but also from all sides simultaneously. This is a rare but possible occurrence. A striking example of it is a tornado - an atmospheric vortex that forms in a cloud and reaches the earth's surface. By the way, there are many types of such vortices, which can form on the surface and then rise vertically.
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Similar phenomena occur in places where a collision of air masses occurs. In general, each air stream has its own direction and speed. But when such currents collide with each other, it turns out that the wind blows from different directions at the same time. Most often this happens in areas with difficult terrain, multi-storey buildings, etc. The wind direction changes abruptly in a small area, and vortices are formed due to the pressure drop.