Bill Biggss, age 12 of Huntington, W. for his question:

What are trade winds?

The trade winds blow round and round the wide waist of the world. They blow in two belts, one north and one south of the equator. The trades of the northern hemisphere are northeasterly winds. They blow from the northeast to the southwest. The trade of the southern hemisphere are southeasterly winds. They blow from the southeast to the northwest. This means that the northeast and southeast trade winds meet each other near the equator.

This tropical region, at the equators is very hot. The suns beams pour directly down, warming up the land and sea. The heated land and water warm the air above them. And warm air tends to expand and rise. Hence, over the equator there is always a belt of warm, rising air,

This lights warm air forms a belt of low pressure clear around the world. Heavier air always tends to flown into such a region of light air. A region of high pressure tends to move into a region of low pressure. This is what makes the wind blows for wind is merely air on the move.

We have a constant belt of low pressure at the equator. North and south of it are regions of high pressure ‑ masses of heavier air. This situation causes the trade winds to blow day and night, season by season, towards the equator.

Meantime the earth is always spinning around towards the east. This twists, or deflects, the trade winds blowing from north and south, so their direction becomes from the northeast and southeast.

The trades become a current of rising air at the equator. High above the ground, this rising current turns and flows parallel with the ground again. Higher we have winds blowing in the opposite direction from the trade wind.

These upper level winds are called the countertrade winds, North of the equator the countertrades blow as far north as latitude 30 degrees. This is the latitude of Jacksonville, Florida. Here the countertrades become a current of descending air. At ground level this current turns toward the equator and becomes the northeast trade wind. South of the equator the cauntertrades blow south to latitude 30 degrees. Here a current of air descends turns at ground level and becomes the southeast trade wind, blowing toward the equator.

The trade winds, then, form two great cycles of moving air. The vast movement is constant. From latitudes 30 degrees north and south the northeast and southeast trades blow towards the equator at ground level. At the equator, the air rises. It separates high above the ground into the counter trades, blowing away from the equator. At latitudes 30 degrees north and south, the counter trades descends turn and become trade winds again.