prevailing wind

Prevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on the Earth's surface. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface. A region's prevailing and dominant winds are often affected by global patterns of movement in the Earth's atmosphere. In general, easterly flow occurs at low and medium latitudes globally. In the mid-latitudes, westerly winds are the rule and their strength is largely determined by the polar cyclone. In areas where winds tend to be light, the sea breeze/land breeze cycle is the most important to the prevailing wind; in areas which have variable terrain, mountain and valley breezes dominate the wind pattern. Highly elevated surfaces can induce a thermal low, which then augments the environmental wind flow.

Den förhärskande vinden är trenden hos vindhastigheten och vindriktningen över punkt på jordytan. Ett områdes förhärskande vind beror på globala rörelsemönster hos luften i atmosfären.