What are Westerlies?

Answer: The westerlies, also known as anti-trades or prevailing westerlies, are the dominant winds in the middle latitudes, between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing from the west toward the east.

Extratropical cyclones are guided in this general direction by these systems, which begin from the high-pressure regions in the horse latitudes and trend towards the poles.

While the westerlies are weakest in the summer hemisphere and at periods when pressures are more significant over the poles, they are strongest during the winter and when tensions are lower over the bars.

The absence of land amplifies the flow pattern, causing the current to become more north-south oriented and slowing the westerlies. This is why westerlies are particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere.