Polar easterlies
Topic: Atmospheric Pressure, Winds and General Circulation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 9 "Atmospheric Circulation and Weather Systems"
Meaning
Polar easterlies are cold, dry winds that blow from the polar highs towards the subpolar lows near 60° latitude. They start as air flowing away from the poles. The Coriolis force then bends them so that they come from the east. They are the surface winds of the polar cell. Where they meet the warmer, wetter westerlies, a boundary called the polar front forms. Temperate cyclones (mid-latitude storms) are born along this front.
Example
Around the coast of Antarctica, cold easterly winds blow off the ice. They meet the westerlies over the Southern Ocean near 60°S, where storms form again and again.
Don't confuse with
- Trade winds: these are also easterly winds, but they are warm, steady winds of the tropics. They blow from the subtropical highs to the equatorial low.