What Causes Wind

Why does the wind blow?

High wind blowing trash.

Wind is the effect of hot air needing to expand and cold air is contracting.

High pressure areas flow to low pressure. This means that air in high pressure masses must go to low pressure areas.

As air gets hotter it expands, it becomes lighter, and rises. As the hotter air rises the void it leaves below becomes low pressure. This is what causes wind: Cooler and more dense air rushes in to fill the lower pressure area created when the hot air rose. The higher the difference between high pressure ( cold ) and low pressure ( hot ) results in higher winds.

What causes the air to get hot in the first place?

As far as weather is concerned warm or hot air is caused by the sun heating surfaces on the earth, land, plants and water. The heated surfaces reflect the heat into the atmosphere. Since oceans occupy more surface than anything else, it is the oceans heating by the sun that has a large impact on wind formation. In the same context the warmed ocean surfaces and wind create water vapor which contribute to cloud formation and precipitation. The sun rays strike the earth at different angles depending on the seasons caused by earth wobble and rotation. Direct overhead sun rays will heat much more than glancing rays at low angles. Likewise mountains block sun rays from hitting areas which will cause colder high pressure air pockets. The sun at most can fall upon one half of the earth and heating those surfaces, the other half is dark and cooling.

Here are links to related articles.

Jet Streams

What are Clouds?

What is Weather?