Meteorology question: Cloud direction vs wind direction?

[BarnRat]

Sometimes, but not always, the wind direction (as given by weather.com for my location) is exactly the opposite of the cloud movement. For example: the wind may be given as NW but the storm clouds are coming out of the SE. Almost always the wind direction given by weather.com is corroborated by the wind vane on the top of my house so I assume that weather.com is giving me the "ground level" wind direction. Am I correct in assuming that the upper atmosphere wind direction can be 180 degrees to the ground direction? I am aware that wind direction and wind speed can be different at different altitudes: jet streams.

 

[Andre]

Winds circulate around low pressure areas due to the Coriolis effect and other forces. Ground winds are subject to drag due to ground obstacles, this slows it down reducing the Coriolis effect, as a result they turn into the direction of the low pressure and that's the main reason that surface winds have different directions than the upper winds (and hence clouds), but 180 degrees is a bit much, although the jet streams around 30,000 feet have also other, more complex logics.

Question, can you figure out in which direction the surface wind turns, in comparison to the upper winds?

 

[BarnRat]

Winds circulate around low pressure areas due to the Coriolis effect and other forces. Ground winds are subject to drag due to ground obstacles, this slows it down reducing the Coriolis effect, as a result they turn into the direction of the low pressure and that's the main reason that surface winds have different directions than the upper winds (and hence clouds), but 180 degrees is a bit much.

Thanks. I'll have to think about your answer.

Question, can you figure out in which direction the surface wind turns, in comparison to the upper winds?

Is this intended as a sort of homework question, meaning that the answer is the same for all locations in the northern hemisphere? Or do you want me to try to analyze my local weather/wind patterns?

 

[Andre]

Ah the question is just to stimulate thinking, figuring things out. I could have explained it and I will eventually, if needed. But it's essentially the same on each hemisphere.

 

[LudusRex]

Yes, you are correct in assuming that the upper atmosphere wind direction can be different from the ground level wind direction. This is due to the complex nature of wind patterns and the effects of atmospheric conditions on air movement. Wind is affected by a variety of factors such as temperature, pressure, and topography, which can all vary at different altitudes. Additionally, the rotation of the Earth and the Coriolis effect can also cause wind to change direction as it moves through the atmosphere. This can result in the wind direction at the ground level being different from the wind direction at higher altitudes. Jet streams, which are high altitude, narrow bands of strong winds, are a good example of this phenomenon. They can have wind speeds of over 100 mph and can flow in a different direction than the surface winds. Therefore, it is important to consider both ground level and upper atmosphere wind patterns when studying meteorology and predicting weather patterns.