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westerlies

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
westerlies [′wes·tər·lēz]
(meteorology)
The dominant west-to-east motion of the atmosphere, centered over the middle latitudes of both hemispheres; at the earth's surface, the westerly belt (or west-wind belt) extends, on the average, from about 35 to 65° latitude. Also known as circumpolar westerlies; middle-latitude westerlies; mid-latitude westerlies; polar westerlies; subpolar westerlies; subtropical westerlies; temperate westerlies; zonal westerlies; zonal winds.


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Stronger westerlies in NA could account for larger variations in the mean flow, therefore, leading to more error in predicting cell movement.
Winter precipitation is caused both by storms from the Gulf of Alaska tracking under the influence of the dominant westerlies at this latitude (Godfrey, 1999), and more tropical moisture originating near Hawaii tracking under the influence of the subtropical jet stream and producing what is colloquially referred to as the "Pineapple Express.
At mid-latitudes, prevailing westerlies (examples shown below), travel from west to east while blowing toward Earth's poles, Dust from Asia that gets caught in this wind pattern journeys to the U.
 
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