Understanding Counter-Clockwise Motion of Low Pressure Systems

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Singularity

A sub 3 minute video supplementing the above with an animation:
https://youtu.be/HIyBpi7B-dE

[PJHoffnet]

Downhill and to the right. Think of the 'standard' XY plot with X being horizontal and Y being vertical.
- The center of the low (storm) is at position 0,0.
- The pressure all around the storm is higher than at the center. So the air masses will try to move (fall) towards 0,0

- - An air mass to the north of the storm, say at position 0,1 will try to move south towards the low. The Coriolis effect will defect this flow to the 'right' or west (and easterly wind) due to the conservation of angular momentum as described in many posts above.
-- Air mass to the south, position 0, -1 tries to move north towards the storm, Coriolis defects it towards the east (a westerly wind).
-- Air mass to the east, position 1, 0 tries to move west towards the storm, Coriolis deflects it towards the north (southerly wind).
-- Air mass to the west, position -1, 0 tries to move east towards the storm, Coriolis deflects it towards the south (northerly wind).

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