Coriolis Force versus Pressure Gradient Force | Aviation Weather | FlightInsight

Coriolis Force or Coriolis Effect and Pressure Gradient Force combine to produce the winds we experience during flight.

Areas of different air pressure, or gradients, cause the wind to blow. Air moves from an area of high pressure to an area of relative low pressure.

Because the Earth is spinning however, and we are spinning with it, our observation of the wind is more complicated than that. Just like how we would perceive a ball being thrown to us from someone on the opposite end of a spinning merry-go-round, our perception is that the wind follows a curved path. This curved path is a result of what's called the Coriolis Force.

The combination of the Pressure Gradient Force and Coriolis Force, as well as how they interact with the surface close to the ground, produce the winds we experience in flight.

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