How come the low pressure system and the high pressure system moves differently in the two oposite hemispheres

Question

In the Southern hemisphere, the Low pressure system moves clockwise and the high pressure system anti-clockwise, vice versa in the Northern Hemisphere. Why are they different in both hemispheres? Thanks!

Answer 1

as air flows from high pressure area to low pressure area on the rotating surface of earth, these two factors cause it to start rotating due to Coriolis force,which causes acceleration in perpendicular direction to the direction of flow. but on the southern hemisphere the acceleration is to the right of the air flow while on the northern hemisphere it is to the left, that results in circular motion in those directions as you mentioned.

Answer 2

Good question. Here is the scientific answer. Air first begins to move perpendicular to the isobars from high pressure to low pressure. This is called the pressure gradient force. But as it moves in the northern hemisphere it turns to the right. This is called the Coriolis Force (or acceleration). If there were no friction at the surface to slow down the wind, the air would eventually flow in concentric circles about a low pressure in a counterclockwise manner due to these two forces, but due to friction the pressure gradient force dominates and the air crosses the isobars slightly and spirals into the low. At the same time it spirals out of the high pressure region under the same forces. In the southern hemisphere the pressure gradient force is still from high to low pressure, but the Coriolis force now acts to move the air to the left of its direction of motion and with friction, the result will be air spiraling clockwise into a low and counterclockwise out of a high. I hope this clears up some of the misunderstandings on this subject. If not, let me know.

Answer 3

This is a bit hard to explain. It's called the coriolis effect.
If you are at the north pole, you are actually on the earth's axis of rotation, yes?
If you head south, you also end up moving away from the axis. When you reach the equator, you are as far from the axis of rotation as you can get.
So, in addition to moving from north to south, you have effectively moved away from the axis. If you stand on a roundabout while it spins, you will appreciate that the centrifuge has a greater effect the further from the centre (the axis) you are. So, as you move south across the earth to the equator, the centrifuge acting on you increases. This creates a force at right angles to your direction of north-south motion, and it affects wind in the same way. Wind blowing from north to south, experiences this extra force at right angles, which causes its path to curve, ultimately causing a spinning mass of air. Why do they spin in opposite directions on opposite sides of the sphere?
What is the difference between the earth, as viewed from above the south pole, and as viewed from above the north pole? In both cases it would appear as a spinning disc, but viewed from above the north pole, it would look to be spinning ANTI-CLOCKWISE, while viewed from above the south pole, it would be spinning CLOCKWISE. So, the effect of the centrifuge will act in opposite directions depending on which hemisphere you occupy.

It's for the same reason that water going down a plug-hole supposedly spins one way in the northern hemisphere and the other in the south (In reality it does no such thing- coriolis effect is far too weak to have an effect on such a small scale).


The difference between the northern and southern hemisphere is

Answer 4

They don't move differently but appear as if they are moving differently.When you are standing in the North pole or the South Pole your feet is always on the earth.But, compared to your position in the North pole,your position in the Soth pole look as if you are looking at the earth standing on your head.So if you are looking at a rotating disc standing from one side in a particular position(head top, feet down) and looking at it from the other side standing in the opposite position(head bottom,feet top) will not the movement of the disc seem to be opposite .In the same way the pressure systems also look as if they are moving differently .Of course wind movement becomes circular in the pressure systems due to the deflection by coriolis force.

Answer 5

Air flows from intense to low rigidity yet intense and occasional rigidity structures never collide or merge. The continues to be of Tropical Cyclone "Bianca", now a low rigidity equipment, is over the southwest corner of Western Australia and is no longer a raffle. because of the fact the low is interior the southern hemisphere, winds spiral clockwise in direction of the centre. intense rigidity structures have anticlockwise rotations.