🔍 Key Concepts

• Prevailing westerlies as a major belt of planetary winds between the subtropics and higher latitudes • Differences between seasonal monsoon-type winds and persistent mid‑latitude westerlies • Typical strength and constancy of winds in the Southern Ocean / Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties

💭 Think About

• Are the prevailing westerlies in the Southern Hemisphere mainly controlled by local seasons, or by large‑scale global circulation that exists most of the time? • Think about why the Southern Hemisphere westerlies are famous among ocean racers—do they rely on a particular season, or are they known for being consistently strong? • Which of the answer choices sounds like a temporary or seasonal feature, and which sound like something tied to a permanent wind belt?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm whether prevailing westerlies are defined as a permanent wind belt or a seasonal/monsoonal wind. • Check if 17–27 knots corresponds to a normal, typical strength of this belt rather than an exceptional, seasonal event. • Eliminate options that limit the winds to a single season only if that doesn’t match what you know about global circulation.