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The Roaring Forties are strong westerly winds that occur in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40° and 50° south.[2] The strong eastward air currents are caused by the combination of air being displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole, Earth's rotation, and the scarcity of landmasses to serve as windbreaks at those latitudes.
The Roaring Forties were a major aid to ships sailing the Brouwer Route from Europe to the East Indies or Australasia during the Age of Sail, and in modern times are favoured by yachtsmen on round-the-world voyages and competitions. The boundaries of the Roaring Forties are not consistent: The wind-stream shifts north or south depending on the season. The strong and continuous winds in the Roaring Forties make this zone advantageous for wind power in places such as New Zealand and Tasmania.[3]
Similar but even stronger conditions that occur at more southerly latitudes are called the Furious Fifties[4] and the Shrieking or Screaming Sixties.[5]
- ^ Davidson, Helen (12 May 2014). "Roaring Forties' shift south means more droughts for southern Australia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023.
- ^ Catchpole, Heather (20 September 2007). "Roaring forties". ABC Science. In Depth. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ Wind turbine
- ^ Tkalčić, Hrvoje; Eakin, Caroline; Coffin, M F; Rawlinson, Nick; Stock, Joann Miriam (27 September 2022), Deploying a submarine seismic observatory in the Furious Fifties, American Geophysical Union, retrieved 7 February 2024
- ^ "Perilous Tow for Polar Ship". The News. Vol. 48, no. 7,343. Adelaide. 14 February 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 7 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.