The Roaring Forties is the name given to strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees. The strong west-to-east air currents are caused by the combination of air being displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole and the Earth's rotation, and there are few landmasses to serve as windbreaks.
The Roaring Forties was a major aid to ships sailing from Europe to the East Indies or Australasia during the Age of Sail, and in modern usage is favoured by yachtsmen on round-the-world voyages and competitions. The boundaries of the Roaring Forties are not consistent, and shift north or south depending on the season. Similar but stronger conditions occur in more southerly latitudes, and are referred to as the Furious Fifties and Shrieking or Screaming Sixties.
Read more about Roaring Forties: Mechanics, Use For Sailing
Famous quotes containing the words roaring and/or forties:
“The roaring alongside he takes for granted,
and that every so often the world is bound to shake.
He runs, he runs to the south, finical, awkward,
in a state of controlled panic, a student of Blake.”
—Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979)
“It is in the thirties that we want friends. In the forties we know they won’t save us any more than love did.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)