Why does weather move in an easterly direction?

Question

Why does weather move in an easterly direction?

Answer 1

jet stream

Answer 2

due to the rotation of the earth the fronts in the northern hemisphere move from west to east and the opposite in the southern hemisphere.

Answer 3

Actually, it depends on where you are.  Near the equator the motion is easterly (that is, FROM the east) and in the mid-latitudes it is typically westerly (from the west).  It moves in this fashion because of the way the Earth rotates and conservation of angular momentum as air moves generally from the equator to the poles.

Note that it moves this way in BOTH the southern and northern hemisphere, contrary to some of the other answers.

Answer 4

Corioli's force in the Northern Hemisphere deflects everything to the right.  In the Southern Hemisphere, however, it is deflected to the left!