Upper-level wind does not blow from high to low pressure — it runs along the isobars. That is the geostrophic balance you can read right off a weather map.
Geostrophic WindLive
wind parallel to isobars
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Away from the ground, wind does not blow from high to low pressure — it blows along the isobars. The pressure-gradient force pushing air toward low pressure is balanced by the Coriolis force, and the result, the geostrophic wind, runs parallel to the pressure lines. Tighter isobar spacing means stronger wind. This is why you can read wind straight off a weather map.
Reading this result: The wind blows along the isobars, not across them: the pressure-gradient force toward low pressure is exactly cancelled by the Coriolis force, leaving a steady flow parallel to the lines.
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How it works
High above the friction of the surface, the pressure-gradient force pushing air toward low pressure is balanced by the Coriolis force deflecting it. The result, the geostrophic wind, blows parallel to the isobars, with speed set by how tightly they are packed and by latitude. It is the foundation of reading and forecasting large-scale weather.
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