As usual the Coriolis effect deflects it to the right, which in this case means to the east. At the southern boundary of our zone the air is driven down by tropical convection and thereafter heads north. As a result, everything is backwards (ain’t it the truth?). In our region of relatively moderate temperatures, general circulation of the atmosphere is driven by the extremes to the north and south. In between-that is, in the zone from 30 to 60 degrees latitude-we have us. The Coriolis effect deflects it to the right (west) and we wind up with the polar easterlies. Frigid polar air contracts, sinks, and heads south. The Coriolis effect deflects the moving air to the right enroute-that is, toward the west-and the net effect is that the prevailing winds, better known as the trade winds, are out of the northeast. By the time it gets to about 25-30 degrees north latitude it cools off, sinks, and heads south again. Hot air at the equator expands, rises, and (in the northern hemisphere) moves north. Why? Convection currents and the Coriolis effect. In both tropical and polar regions the prevailing winds move in the opposite direction, from east to west. The main thing to remember is that the weather moves from west to east only in the part of the world where you happen to be, namely the temperate latitudes. You try explaining convection currents and the Coriolis effect in 600 words or less. It would be if the world were run by newspaper Q&A columnists.

Do meteors always go east to west