antitrades

noun

1. antitrades, westerly winds lying above the trade winds in the tropics.

adjective

2. noting or pertaining to such a wind.

pl n

1. winds in the upper atmosphere blowing in the opposite direction from and above the trade winds

1. Winds blowing steadily from west to east in the upper levels of the troposphere, above and in a direction counter to the surface trade winds of the tropics. In the middle latitudes of the North and South Temperate Zones, the antitrades merge with the prevailing westerly surface winds. Compare trade winds.