Global winds, satellite-based diagram. The rotation of this Earth globe (dark blue arrow) and the Coriolis effect causes the wind patterns shown. The prevailing winds are the trade winds (tropical easterlies), mid-latitude westerlies, and the polar easterlies. The corresponding cells (arrows at right) are the Hadley cells, Ferrel cells, and polar cells. Between these regions are the high-altitude subtropical and polar jetstreams (green arrows). The satellite cloud imagery shows a large low pressure storm system over the North Atlantic, a tropical hurricane near the Caribbean, and clouds along the inter-tropical convergence zone just north of the Equator.