why do winds travel counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere?
97237
Coriollis force theory indeed\n\n\nCounter clockwise winds travel around a LOW pressure area,upward.. Winds around a High pressure area travel clockwise downward in the Northern hemisphere.....
730145
Yes\nIn the northern hemisphere propellers must rotate clockwise and in the southern hemisphere counter clockwise, reversing the direction causes the plane to fly backwards.\n\nThis is known as Coriolis force.\n\nIf a plane travelled from Wellington New Zealand to London (roughly opposite points of the globe) a passenger will notice that their money is worth less, conversely if a passenger travelled from London to Wellington they would notice their money is worth more, this is due to the principle of the conservation of energy.
1172351
wind has entirely everything to do with pressure, not so much temperature..but since temperature differences causes pressure differences, i'll let it slide\n\nWind always flows from High to Low...and as you see on weather maps, meterologists give these highs and lows numbers..corresponding to the pressure on a barometric scale\n\nso if you have a high pressure system of 31.15" of Mercury..and a low pressure of 28.45" of Hg then you have whats called a pressure gradient\n\nas this pressure gradient increases (the high gets higher and the low gets lower) the wind strength increases...\n\nSo the strength and direction of wind is created by the pressure gradient..but its also influenced by teh earths rotation..this is called the coriolis force...the fact of the matter is, is that the air is moving over a rotating surface..so in the Northern Hemisphere, the wind is seemingly deflected to the right..because the earth is spinning
318196
Flow of air is caused by a difference in air pressure, from high pressure to low pressure.   \n\nA low pressure area forms in the atmosphere, air will tend to flow in towards it, but will be deflected perpendicular to its velocity by the Coriolis acceleration. A system of equilibrium can then establish itself creating circular movement, or a cyclonic flow.\n\nThe force balance is largely between the pressure gradient force acting towards the low-pressure area and the Coriolis acceleration acting away from the center of the low pressure. Instead of flowing down the gradient, the air tends to flow perpendicular to the air-pressure gradient and forms a cyclonic flow. This is an example of a more general case of geostrophic flow in which air flows along isobars. On a non-rotating planet the air would flow along the straightest possible line, quickly leveling the air pressure. Note that the force balance is thus very different from the case of "inertial circles" (see below) which explains why mid-latitude cycles are larger by an order of magnitude than inertial circle flow would be.\n\nThis pattern of deflection, and the direction of movement, is called Buys-Ballot's law. The pattern of flow is called a cyclone. In the Northern Hemisphere the direction of movement around a low-pressure area is counterclockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere, the direction of movement is clockwise because the rotational dynamics is a mirror image there. Cyclones cannot form on the equator, and they rarely travel towards the equator, because in the equatorial region the coriolis parameter is small, and exactly zero on the equator.
241749
It depends on the toilet, not the hemisphere.\n\nYou are thinking of something called "the coriolis effect".  This is the effect which causes water to try to spin clockwise in the southern hemisphere and clounter-close wise in the northern hemisphere.  Although this effect is real, it has a negligible effect in everyday life, like in the draining of toilets.  Compared to other factors, the coriolis effect is extrememly weak and for all intensive purposes, does not influence the effect of water draining out of a toilet.
49342
Some will say the Coriolis force (one of the fictitious forces that we observe because we live in a noninertial rotating frame), and predict that it will swirl clockwise in the southern hemisphere. However, these forces are overcome by all kinds of other geometric effects and residual motion etc. \n\nFor example, fill a sink with a few inches of water, and swirl it with your hand, either clockwise or anticlockwise. Wait for a few minutes until you are sure that the water is still. Then carefully drop in a drop or two of food coloring and watch. The water will remain in motion for hours from your stirring. When you remove the stopper, you can create a bias towards an anticlockwise or clockwise drain vortex. The shape of the drain can also influence the direction of this fluid motion. \n\nThe flushing of a toilet is a very vigorous event, and so it will have a large effect on the direction of fluid motion, along with many other factors.
995635
great question -way beyond my knowledge base\nsomebody correct me when I'm wrong.  If the earth spins in the opposite direction then all the things affected by the Coriolis Effect are opposite- do Atlantic hurricanes  happen ? does the Gulf Stream exist ? I don't  think so because the current on the American side of the Atlantic would be going south from Arctic regions and the Europeans would get the African waters. lots of possibilities\nwe know for sure that the jet streams  will go  in the opposite direction \nclimates  would be different- a question of where  water is coming from and going to.\nagain great question
728543
From USA Today:\n\n"Q: Why does most of our weather come from the west if the Earth is rotating the opposite way?\n\nA: When looking down at the North Pole, the Earth spins counterclockwise around its axis. A point on the equator travels at about 1,100 mph, while a point directly at the poles does not move at all. An apparent force called the Coriolis force results from this difference in speeds, deflecting objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. The Coriolis force, combined with solar heating patterns across the Earth, create distinctive wind patterns that drive weather systems.\n\nOne prevailing surface wind pattern that results is located in the mid-latitudes, between 30 and 60° North. Solar heating alone, without the Earth's rotation, would produce prevailing southerly winds. The Coriolis force, however, deflects these winds to the right, creating prevailing winds out of the west and southwest (the westerlies). \n\nSolar heating patterns in the tropics, from the equator to about 30° North, combined with the Coriolis force, produce weak prevailing winds out of the east (the easterlies). Southern regions of the USA, including Florida, are affected by the westerlies at times and the easterlies at others."\n\nHope this helps explain it. Check the first link for other weather questions and second link to see a full explanation of the consequences of rotation on weather.
297924
It's "trade winds".\nIt's the wind created by the movement of air from north or south towards the equator.
763595
It doesn't make a difference. While the Coriolis effect does make hurricanes turn anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern, that's because hurricanes are such huge, slow-forming systems.\n\nFlushes (and sinks for that matter) are way too small for the same effect - the direction of your flush is simply dependent on how the toilet is manufactured. The force of the Coriolis effect is really small compared to the force of the rushing water in your toilet or sink.
351133
yes, of course the rotation of the Earth contributes to wind. The Earth is turning at about 25,000 mph. Air wants to stand still...obviously, air is moving to a high extent, or we would have 25,000 mph winds! But, friction, differences in topography (mountains, etc.) cause the air to move more slowly, so we have what is apparent wind. And, a bigger contributor is pressure difference in hot and cold air. The circulation of the Earth cause High pressure areas to spin in a clockwise motion in the northern Hemispher, and Low pressure areas to spin in a counter clockwise direction. When these two approach each other, pressure gradients cause air from the high to flow to the low creating winds...the stronger the differences in the low and high, the faster the wind to fill the low. Nature "abhors" a vacuum..and a low is a kind of vacuum. And yes, wind contributes greatly to tides. Wind pushes water in front of it, and when the pushed water comes ashore, the effects of wind are quite dramatic...such as a hurricane surge! Gravitational differences in the moon/Earth set up causes water to raise or lower, depending upon that cycle...a raise in water is a High Tide, and lowering is a Low Tide.  And that gravitational difference can be very dramatic....look at the tides along the Eastern seaboard. In some areas, the tidal differences are measured in a few feet, in others, the differences are as much as 20 feet! In some areas, there are NO tides.
373244
clockwise in the northern hemisphere, anticlockwise in the southern. this according to the coriolis force, but of course there otehr factors that might influence the direction of the water (geometry of the sink, external vibrations, you turning your finger in water....)
895180
The Coriolis effect isn't really "made" by anything.  The Coriolis effect is due to the rotation of the Earth.  In the Northern Hemisphere the winds are deflected to the right and in the Southern Hemisphere winds are blown to the left.  An example that will help you picture why this happens is by using a merry go round.  Sitting on a merry go round have somebody sit directly in front of you on the other side.  Now spin the merry go round and try throwing a ball to the person on the other side.   The ball doesn't go to the person you were trying to throw to because the merry go round (the Earth) is spinning.  So the ball you throw goes in a straight line but since the merry go round is spinning, the ball will not go to the person you were trying to throw too.
289183
Due to the effect, cyclones rotate counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. However, contrary to popular opinion, it has no noticeable effect on the rotation of water in sinks and toilets - see the toilets/bathtubs section below.
1119487
It doesn't. Go south of the equator and you will see it spins clockwise.
718853
As much as I hate to contradict others, the East and West explanation is inaccurate. Hurricanes are in the Northern Hemisphere, while cyclones and typhoons are in the Southern Hemisphere. Another difference, which is caused by their location, is the direction in which they spin. The rotation of  the Earth causes hurricanes to spin counterclockwise, while cyclones go clockwise.
1073455
No, you've got it backwards, it flushes counter-clockwiswe above the equator, and clockwise below. Right on the equator should flush counter-clockwise as well.