Free Air/Gradient Winds are primarily caused by what?

Prepare for the NWCG Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations (S-390) Test. Study with interactive questions and explanations to ensure you're ready for the challenge.

Multiple Choice

Free Air/Gradient Winds are primarily caused by what?

Explanation:
Free Air/Gradient Winds are driven by the horizontal pressure gradient created by differences in atmospheric pressure on a large scale, such as between high and low pressure systems. Air moves from higher to lower pressure, and in the free atmosphere the lack of surface friction allows the Coriolis effect to bend that flow into relatively steady, large-scale wind patterns that follow the pressure field. Local surface heating causes convection and gusty, small-scale winds, not the broad gradient winds. Ocean currents can influence coastal meteorology but don’t establish the primary gradient wind pattern, and mountain wind shear is a localized terrain effect rather than the global driver of these winds.

Free Air/Gradient Winds are driven by the horizontal pressure gradient created by differences in atmospheric pressure on a large scale, such as between high and low pressure systems. Air moves from higher to lower pressure, and in the free atmosphere the lack of surface friction allows the Coriolis effect to bend that flow into relatively steady, large-scale wind patterns that follow the pressure field. Local surface heating causes convection and gusty, small-scale winds, not the broad gradient winds. Ocean currents can influence coastal meteorology but don’t establish the primary gradient wind pattern, and mountain wind shear is a localized terrain effect rather than the global driver of these winds.

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