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Ferrel cell
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Diagram comparing global atmospheric circulation patterns on an idealized Earth and the actual Earth, showing wind belts such as westerlies, trade winds, and major zones like the subtropical high, polar high, and intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), with labeled circulation cells and latitudinal lines.
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William Ferrel
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atmospheric circulation
atmospheric circulation General patterns of atmospheric circulation over an idealized Earth with a uniform surface (left) and the actual Earth (right). Both horizontal and vertical patterns of atmospheric circulation are depicted in the diagram of the actual Earth.

Ferrel cell

meteorology
Also known as: midlatitude cell
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History

Ferrel cell, model of the mid-latitude segment of Earth’s wind circulation, proposed by William Ferrel (1856). In the Ferrel cell, air flows poleward and eastward near the surface and equatorward and westward at higher altitudes; this movement is the reverse of the airflow in the Hadley cell. Ferrel’s model was the first to account for the westerly winds between latitudes 35° and 60° in both hemispheres. The Ferrel cell, however, is still not a good representation of reality because it requires that the upper-level mid-latitude winds flow westward; actually the eastward-flowing surface winds become stronger with height and reach their maximum velocities around the 10-km (6-mile) level in the jet streams.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.