What is Upper-Level Winds (Jet Streams)?

Upper-level winds are like fast-moving highways high up in the sky that help planes fly faster and farther.

Imagine you're on a really bumpy road, but then you get onto a smooth, fast lane, that’s kind of what happens with upper-level winds. These winds are found way up in the atmosphere, usually around 30,000 feet or more, where the air is thinner and moves much faster than it does near the ground.

Jet streams are like the superhighways of these upper-level winds. They’re narrow bands of strong wind that flow around the Earth, sometimes going as fast as 200 miles per hour! Pilots love jet streams because they can use them to make their flights faster and save fuel, it’s like getting a tailwind on a bike ride.

These jet streams are created by big differences in temperature between hot and cold air. When warm air meets cool air up high, it pushes the wind into these fast-moving bands, and that's how we get our upper-level winds!