COSEE Ocean Systems: News
How does the jet stream work, and how is it changing as fall sets in?
Description: Remember the earth is spinning. Air can't flow in a straight south-north line, because it has rotational momentum. Since the earth is a sphere, the radius of the earth dwindles as one heads from the equator to the north pole. Imagine taking horizontal slices through the earth at the middle, and then at the top - the top slice would be tiny. That's why the air is forced to speed up as the earth curves inward, and the air travels so fast that it can't make it all the way to the pole. Instead, it snakes around the poles at the mid-latitudes, and thus the jet stream is born. [Source: Washington Post]
URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/29/how-does-the-jet-stream-work-and-how-is-it-changing-as-fall-sets-in/?utm_term=.4d18613022d0
Availability: Full Text
Source: Washington Post
Publish Date: 9/29/2017
Reading Level: Basic
Page Length:  

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