Dear Tom,
Here in Chicago we get most of our “weather” from the west, but most of the recent hurricanes in Florida come from the east. Does all of their weather come from the east? Where is the “line of demarcation”?
Chuck Gleffe, Bolingbrook
Dear Chuck,
The Earth’s general circulation of rising and sinking motions puts the area between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south latitude in an easterly wind regime, including the trade winds. The vast majority of hurricanes and tropical weather in general form within this band and drift from the east to west toward the east coast of continents. For the United States, the 30-degree north latitude (roughly along the Gulf Coast) would be the delimiter, which tends to drift up to 300 miles farther north in summer and 300 miles south in winter.
———-
Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
