Today's weather and wind direction explained

Good morning Augusta.

Yep, its still snowing outside. Go back to bed and call someone else to do the shoveling for you.

This morning it is overcast and its still snowing. High of 12F with a windchill as low as -18F. Winds from the NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100% with accumulations up to 1 in. possible. 

Tonight it will be overcast with snow. Low of 3F with a windchill as low as -8F. Winds from the NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100% with accumulations up to 2 in. possible.

The readings from my own weather instruments are:

The humidity is 70% with a dew point of -2.0ºF, Temperature is 5.8ºF and a wind chill of  012.6ºF

Our wind direction is North between 9.8 MPH and  17.5 MPH. 

The Barometric pressure is 30.38 HPA 1028 and rising with a weather graphic indicating clouds. 

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, Sunrise is at 6:47 a.m. sunset is 4:59 PM and Moon Rise is 10:44 METAR KAUG 091153Z AUTO 02015G21KT 10SM OVC060 M15/M19 A3030 RMK AO2 UPB12E13 SLP270 P0000 60000 70004 T11501194 11144 21150 53015  p.m. EDT and the moon phase is waning Gibbous. 

For the pilots out there Raw Metar is:

 

Visibility is 10.0 miles/16.1 Kilometers with overcast conditions to 6,000 ft / 1,828 m.

We have had Roughly 6 additional inches of snow since this time yesterday and it is still coming down.

Wind direction confusion explained.

Q: Are southwest winds coming from the southwest or blowing toward the southwest?

A: Wind direction is given as the direction from which it is blowing. Therefore, a southwest wind is blowing from the southwest and toward the northeast. While winds are always named for the direction of the source, confusion arises when directions are used in other contexts. For example, a "southerly" wind means that it is blowing from the south, but a ship that takes a "southerly" course is moving toward the south.

 

**Prevailing winds

Prevailing Winds are those winds which are formed as a result of various circulation patterns of the globe and they are a notable feature of weather phenomenon .

Formation of Prevailing Winds :

Prevailing winds are caused due to the unequal heating of the surface of the Earth. As the hot air goes up, cooler air moves to substitute it. In this way wind is formed. On reaching the Earth's troposphere the wind takes an orbital course around the Earth. The differences in heating gives rise to air circulations which flow from the equator to the poles in the upper parts of the atmosphere and vice versa in the lower parts.

Path of Prevailing Winds :

Prevailing winds generally blow from one region having high pressure to another which has low pressure. They do not follow the direct route from north to south between the belts of pressure. This happens because of the deflection of airflow by Coriolis force.

Types of Prevailing Winds :

Trade Winds : In olden days, sailors heavily depended on these prevailing winds to sail from Europe to America. The northeast trade winds are found between the latitudes of 30 to 0°N and the southeast trade winds occur between 0 to 30°S latitudes.

Westerlies : These prevailing winds are found below the Ferrel circulation cell in the mid latitudes.

Polar Easterlies are prevailing winds that are permanent cold winds which form a part of the polar circulation cell. These winds can mix with the Gulf Stream to form very violent and strong tornadoes and thunderstorms.

Jet Streams are prevailing winds which are very swift currents of the higher level.