Polar+Easterly+Winds

The **polar easterlies** are the dry, cold prevailing that blow from the high-pressure areas of the polar highs at the north and south poles towards low-pressure areas within the Westerlies at high latitudes. Cold air subsides at the pole creating the high pressure, forcing a southerly outflow of air towards the equator; that outflow is then deflected westward by the Coriolis effect. Unlike the westerlies in the middle latitudes, the polar easterlies are often weak and irregular. These prevailing winds blow from the east to the west. The subpolar lows generally cause the winds above 60 ° latitude to move from the East towards the West. We call these winds the polar easterlies

All though occasionally other factors can impact the speed at which airflow travels, wind speed is primarily effected by the pressure gradient. If the pressure gradient is sharp, or in other words, if it changes rapidly from a high pressure to a low pressure, than the wind speed will almost always be high.