File name: ENSO_Rossby_wave-break.png
Original Resolution: 2000 × 1374
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The oscillation of the Rossby wave can become so exaggerated that the wave breaks. Embedded air masses spin out of the jet stream: clockwise from ridges (in the Northern Hemisphere) and counterclockwise from the troughs. The breaking waves "hand off" the information they were carrying to the local atmosphere. NOAA Climate.gov image.