Aviation Weather

full text of the classic FAA guide

THE JET STREAM

A discussion of the general circulation is incomplete when it does not mention the “jet stream.” Winds on the average increase with height throughout the troposphere culminating in a maximum near the level of the tropopause. These maximum winds tend to be further concentrated in narrow bands. A jet stream, then, is a narrow band of strong winds meandering through the atmosphere at a level near the tropopause. Since it is of interest primarily to high level flight, further discussion of the jet stream is reserved for chapter 13, “High Altitude Weather.”

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