How come the clouds are always moving from west to east as seen from the satellite picture?

Question

Someone said it is because of the direction that the earth moves, but how? It seems to me that the earth and the clouds are moving in the same direction and the clouds must be moving faster than the earth?

Answer 1

It is due to the jet streams, a series of strong air currents in the upper atmosphere that form along the boundaries of air masses with very different temperatures. They travel from west to east in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but sometimes east to west close to the Equator. The jet stream winds are strong enough to steer storm systems, so the systems move from west to east as well.

The rotation of the Earth does have a role in causing jet streams. The reason why the winds form is that there is a pressure difference between the air masses of different temperatures. Air (and other fluids) like to flow from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. However, the air does not move directly north into the colder (lower pressure) region, because the force of the pressure gradient is deflected by the Coriolis effect, a phenomenon where linear motions in a rotating frame appear to curve.

Answer 2

Clouds move with the upper level winds. And these winds are the prevailing winds of your location. If you live between 30 and 60 deg north latitude, these winds are the westerlies. Remember that a cloud that is not moving from your perspective is still being carried along with the rotational speed of the earth. And if the cloud is moving with respect to the earth it will seem to someone in space to be moving faster than the earth.

Answer 3

That all depends on where you look. Due to the rotation of the earth, the corilois force, and the semi-permenant pressure systems, the systems move west to east in the mid latitudes, like the US and Europe, and move east to west in the Tropics. That's why hurrcianes move east to west from the Atlantic, the curve to a west to east path after they pass around the 30 degrees north latitude line. That's where the semi-permenant sub-tropical high is located, over the oceans. Global satellite loops are great examples where you can see the pressure systems and differences in wind flow. News stations don't show them because they're only concerned about their specific area.

Answer 4

What Tina is speaking approximately is that the Earth is a few distance, way, way, way, way larger than the satellites. specific, that many 'techniques'. Any photograph showing adequate area to seize the full Earth, or perhaps any considerable element of it, won't teach any satellites on a similar distance. this is like taking a photograph of somebody from 20 meters away and then attempting to locate a louse on their head interior the ensuing photograph; it merely does not artwork because of fact the kind in scale is merely too great. That suggested, you ought to certainly get a photograph of the Earth and a satellite tv for pc interior a similar photograph, IF the satellite tv for pc became plenty, plenty closer to the digital camera than the Earth became (i.e., some meters away).

Answer 5

i think it's because clouds follow a general pattern called a "jet stream". That's why hurricanes always present in the same general area of the globe. For North America the jet stream pushes from north west to southeast then back up northeast. So you can follow a cloud mass from West of Washington state down to Texas then back up toward Virginia and Maryland.

Answer 6

There are small parts that move faster than the rotation of the earth just because of how chaoticly gasses can move. So we get the jet stream. That then pushes other air along, sometimes faster than the earths' rotation

Answer 7

The earth and the weather rotate in the same direction, upper winds like the jet stream are much faster.
This is why I put my barn southeast of my house...to avoid the pewpew.

Answer 8

I guess the jet stream? I notcie that all out storms (chicago) come from California and the Northwest,. And Chicago always gets the storm before NYC, so I guess it really does move from West to east

Answer 9

because the wind is always traveling in that particular direction, due to the rotation of the earth