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THE WINDS OF VENUS

     The atmosphere of Venus is about 250 km (155 mi) thick. The atmosphere circulates in a westerly direction about every 4 days.

     The windspeed in the highest cloud layer reach 355 km/hr (220 mi/hr) which is roughly equal the Earth's jet stream.

     The middle cloud layer has the fastest winds. These winds can reach 724 km/hr (450 mi/hr.) That is faster than the fastest tornado on Earth!

     In the lowest cloud levels, the winds blow at around 160 km/hr (100 mi./hr) Then, at the surface there is a gentle breeze of only 3.6 km/hr (2.2 mi./hr.)

Copyright © 1997 Kathy A. Miles and Charles F. Peters II