Christmas jet stream helps fliers fly faster
Dec 24, 2024
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- Christmas Day is right around the corner, and the weather can help Santa Claus travel just a little bit faster.
While we won't be getting a white Christmas this year, the weather can still have impacts on the day, or in this case the night before. We simply have to look up…but not for snow.
We all know how much the weather can impact travel conditions…whether it's on the ground or in the skies above. In this case, we're going to focus on the latter and show how a windy night high above the ground can help Santa get to where he needs to be faster.
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In the upper atmosphere, we have two main areas based on temperatures: The polar region to the north, the tropical region to the south. As warmer air tries to rise up, cooler air sinks down to fill the void. This, in turn, helps create the polar and sub-tropical jet streams…our upper-air currents that steer our weather patterns.
The greater the difference between these air masses, the stronger the winds can be aloft. Typically, the jet stream cruises around 110 mph. With larger temperature differences, though, those wind speeds can climb as high as 200 to 250 mph. Fortunately for Santa, those higher speeds in the polar jet are more common in the winter.
The aviation industry looks at jet stream patterns very closely, as traveling along those winds from west to east can shave a good amount of time off a flight. So, if Santa wants to make up for any lost time stopping for milk and cookies, he'll want to ride the wild wind of the jet stream whenever he can. For KELOLAND weather, I'm Meteorologist Adam Rutt.