wind

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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

wind bending palm trees

What causes powerful wind squalls?

Santa Ana winds

Dispersal of several types of seeds.

World distribution of mean sea-level pressure (in millibars) for January and primary and secondary storm tracks; the general character of the global winds is also shown.

World distribution of mean sea-level pressure (in millibars) for July and primary and secondary storm tracks; the general character of the global winds is also shown.

Figure 3: Latitudinal variation in precipitation and evaporation and relationship to major wind belts and oceanic salinity.

See how differing amounts of solar radiation at the poles and Equator affect Earth's climate and atmosphere

Learn how mountains, bodies of water, and human habitation affect atmospheric activity

Read Next

Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.

16 Questions About Earth’s Atmsophere and Weather Answered

High-oblique view of the extra-tropical unnamed cyclone that merged with Hurricane Earl is featured in this image taken by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station (Sept. 2010).

Is the Number of Hurricanes Increasing?

Discover

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

Easter Procession of Maria Santisima del Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. This statue is known as Virgen de los Gitanos or The Virgin of the Gypsies.

What is Holy Week?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

Entrants falling and tumbling over while chasing the cheese at the 2016 'Cheese Rolling' held at Cooper's Hill, in the Cotswolds, Brockworth England

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Festivals

wind: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

MetMalaysia issues thunderstorm warning for three states • Apr. 19, 2025, 6:03 PM ET (The Star)

Facts

Also Known As	wind system

Photos and Videos

wind bending palm trees

Santa Ana winds

Dispersal of several types of seeds.

World distribution of mean sea-level pressure (in millibars) for January and primary and secondary storm tracks; the general character of the global winds is also shown.

World distribution of mean sea-level pressure (in millibars) for July and primary and secondary storm tracks; the general character of the global winds is also shown.

Figure 3: Latitudinal variation in precipitation and evaporation and relationship to major wind belts and oceanic salinity.

What causes powerful wind squalls?

See how differing amounts of solar radiation at the poles and Equator affect Earth's climate and atmosphere

Learn how mountains, bodies of water, and human habitation affect atmospheric activity

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

windstorm atmospheric circulation jet stream wind chill breeze surge microburst gradient wind Buys Ballot’s law fetch atmospheric river atmospheric turbulence subtropical high

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Quiz

Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree

Facts You Should Know: Weather Quiz

Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)

Winter Weather Words Quiz

rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops

April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs

Umbrella colored like a rainbow sticking out above a sea of black umbrellas while it rains. (storm, weather)

Weather Words Vocabulary Quiz

List

Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.

16 Questions About Earth’s Atmsophere and Weather Answered