Local Winds

Front

Local Winds Noun

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[loh-kuhl windz]

Back

Local Winds

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Winds that blow over a limited area and are influenced by local geography, such as mountains or bodies of water.

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Example: At night, land cools faster than the sea, causing cool, dense air to blow from the land to the sea, creating a land breeze.

Front

Differential Heating Noun

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[dif-er-en-shuhl hee-ting]

Back

Differential Heating

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The process where different surfaces, such as land and water, absorb and release heat at different rates, creating pressure differences.

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Example: During the day, land heats up faster than the sea. This causes warm air to rise over land and cool air to move in from the sea, creating a local wind.

Front

Sea Breeze Noun

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[see breez]

Back

Sea Breeze

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A cool wind blowing from the sea toward the land during the day, caused by the land heating up faster.

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Example: During the day, cool, dense air from over the sea moves inland to replace the warm, rising air over the land, creating a sea breeze.

Front

Land Breeze Noun

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[land breez]

Back

Land Breeze

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A cool wind blowing from the land toward the sea at night, caused by the land cooling down faster.

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Example: At night, cool air from the land, which cools down faster, flows towards the warmer ocean, creating a land breeze.

Front

Monsoon Noun

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[mon-soon]

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Monsoon

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A large-scale, seasonal wind shift over a region that usually brings a dramatic change in precipitation patterns.

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Example: This diagram shows how large-scale heating of land causes moist winds to blow from the ocean, leading to the formation of rain clouds.

Front

Valley Breeze Noun

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[val-ee breez]

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Valley Breeze

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An upslope wind that flows from a valley up a mountain slope during the day due to surface heating.

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Example: During the day, the sun warms the mountain slopes, causing the air above them to warm up, become less dense, and rise up the valley.

Front

Mountain Breeze Noun

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[moun-tin breez]

Back

Mountain Breeze

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A downslope wind that flows from a mountain slope down into a valley at night due to radiational cooling.

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Example: At night, mountain slopes cool down, causing the denser, cool air to sink down into the valley, creating a mountain breeze.

Front

Katabatic Winds Noun

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[kat-uh-bat-ik windz]

Back

Katabatic Winds

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Strong, cold, downslope winds that carry high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under gravity's force.

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Example: At night, cool, dense air flows down a slope under gravity, creating a downslope wind known as a katabatic wind.

Front

Chinook Winds Noun

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[shi-nook windz]

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Chinook Winds

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Warm, dry winds that descend on the leeward side of a mountain range after losing moisture on the windward side.

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Example: Moist air from the ocean rises over a mountain, cools and loses moisture as precipitation, then sinks and warms up, creating a warm, dry wind.

Front

Windward Side Noun

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[wind-werd sahyd]

Back

Windward Side

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The side of a mountain range that faces the oncoming wind, often experiencing more precipitation and cooler air.

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Example: The windward side is the side of a mountain that faces the prevailing wind, causing air to rise, cool, and often release moisture as precipitation.