What exactly are the jet streams?
The Gulf Stream is a swift current of water flowing through the ocean. A jet stream is a swift current of air blowing through the upper atmosphere. It may be a help or a hazard to high flying aircraft. The experts cannot predict exactly when or where it will blow, and a pilot is never surf when his plane may run into one of these gale winds of the stratosphere. Many thoughtful people feel that the 20th century has neglected the science of meteorology. Compared with space experts and other scientists, our trained weathermen are overworked and short of funds to probe the secrets of the turbulent atmosphere. We must know, for example, far more about the jet streams. These tricky gales blow 20,000 to 40,000 feet above the Earth in the upstairs region of modern aviation. Jet streams were discovered in World War II by high flying pilots crossing the Pacific. Since then, we have gathered enough data to chart three typical jet stream paths in the northern hemisphere. But we cannot predict the
