jet stream

noun

Definition of jet stream

: a long narrow meandering current of high-speed winds near the tropopause blowing from a generally westerly direction and often exceeding a speed of 250 miles (402 kilometers) per hour

Examples of jet stream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The heat is due to a strong upper-level ridge of high pressure, or northward bulge in the jet stream, that's expanded into much of the eastern U.S., weather.com reported. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "Get used to it: Heat wave will continue to scorch eastern US this week," 2 July 2018 Within the next two weeks the jet stream should break up in the eastern U.S. and temperatures should increase. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "What Is Going on With the Northeast's Weather?," 20 Mar. 2018 High pressure over western Europe alters the jet stream and pushes clouds and rain over the continent's northern posts, causing foul weather in this North Atlantic island nation. — Egill Bjarnason, Fox News, "Europe's sunny weather makes for a sorry summer in Reykjavik," 4 July 2018 Rather than dry soil, the record warmth this past May can be traced to the jet stream, the high-altitude current that separates cold air from warm air. — Jason Samenow, Washington Post, "The U.S. just had its warmest May in history, blowing past 1934 Dust Bowl record," 7 June 2018 Also, the idea of a slow jet stream, because of changing conditions in the Arctic, is still a controversial topic. — Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, "New Data: Hurricanes Will Get Worse," 16 May 2018 According to the Weather Channel, the recent heat wave can be blamed on high pressure, which is a northward bulge of the jet stream. — Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati weather: Why is it so hot? Blame the heat dome," 5 July 2018 Jennifer Francis, an Arctic expert at Rutgers University, said that ice loss over the Barents Sea and the nearby Kara Sea can disrupt the atmospheric jet stream, in turn leading to extreme weather over Eurasia, especially in winter. — Chris Mooney, Anchorage Daily News, "A huge stretch of the Arctic Ocean is turning into the Atlantic right before our eyes," 27 June 2018 Like a seesaw, the jet stream is then crashing south over eastern North America, allowing frigid air sourced from the Arctic to pour in. — Laris Karklis, Washington Post, "While the East coast is freezing, the West will be warmer than usual," 4 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jet stream.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.