36 THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALASIA 



moving, on the southern side, from west to 

 east ; the three oceans will each be covered by 

 a low pressure area, with the wind blowing 

 spirally inward and the air on the southern side 

 will move from east to west. These great wind 

 systems are not stationary, but are moving 

 from west to east ; in winter the path of the 

 anticyclones crosses the centre of Australia, 

 and the cyclones which are hatched at sea, 

 pass to north and south of the anticyclone track. 

 The prevalent condition of the winter weather 

 of Australia is a central anticyclone, from 

 which the winds flow spirally outward, flowing 

 from west to east in Southern Australia, and 

 from east to west in Northern Australia. 



CHAPTER III. WINDS AND OCEANIC 

 CIRCULATION. 



The importance of the winds on the variations 

 of Australian weather is mainly due to the fact 

 that they cause ocean currents. The power of the 

 wind to pile up water on the leeward side of a 

 lake or to blow the surface water before it, 

 can be noticed by anyone who cares to watch a 

 pond on a windy day. These broad, indefinite, 

 inconstant movements of the surface waters, 

 under the action of the wind, are known as 

 ocean drifts. In the Indian, South Atlantic 



