What is a “pressure gradient” and what does it have to do with weather?
A gradient is the change in a quantity over distance. With atmospheric pressure, air tends to move clockwise away from high pressure and counterclockwise toward low pressure in the Northern Hemisphere. A large change in pressure over a relatively small distance, a large pressure gradient, can result in strong winds. On weather maps, locations of equal pressure are connected by isobars, typically drawn as white lines. When the isobars are tightly packed, locations within that large pressure gradient can expect windy conditions. There’s plenty more about the pressure gradient force on this USA TODAY resource page.
