Book 7, Question 64
Why Do Jet Streams Race High Above Us?
Jet streams are fast rivers of wind high up in the sky. They blow about 9 to 12 kilometers above the ground, which is where airplanes cruise. They steer storms like highways in the sky.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 7
More fun facts
- Jet stream winds blow from west to east.
- Jet streams follow the boundaries between hot and cold air, so they shift north and south.
- Jet streams are strongest in winter, when the difference between hot and cold air is biggest.
- A jet stream can be hundreds of miles wide.
- The jet stream was first documented in the 1920s by Wasaburo Oishi, whose weather balloons in Japan kept racing out over the Pacific Ocean.
- In World War II, Japan sent paper balloons on the jet stream that took about 30 to 60 hours to reach North America.
Sources: NOAA, NOAA, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Who discovered the jet stream?
Wasaburo Oishi first documented it in the 1920s using weather balloons in Japan.
When is the jet stream strongest?
In winter.