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subtropical jet stream
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subtropical jet stream

meteorology
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subtropical jet stream, a belt of strong upper-level winds lying above regions of subtropical high pressure. Unlike the polar front jet stream, it travels in lower latitudes and at slightly higher elevations, owing to the increase in height of the tropopause at lower latitudes. The associated horizontal temperature gradients of this jet stream do not extend to the surface, so a surface front is not evident. In the tropics an easterly jet is sometimes found at upper levels, especially when a landmass is located poleward of an ocean, so the temperature increases with latitude.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.