Eli5: If heat is energy, how does cold wind exist? How can air move (have cold gusts of wind) if it’s not hot? Where does the energy for movement of cold air come from?

Question

I asked this in school and the teacher thought I was trolling and didn’t answer me. It’s been like 20 years and I still think about it, it drives me crazy lol.

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Cold isn’t an energy, it’s the absence of heat energy. Cold is also generally goes hand in hand with a high pressure area of weather. Think the coldest days you’ve ever seen, it’s not cloudy and snowy. It’s clear and crisp and so cold trees explode.

So when you have a high pressure Cold area in one place and a lower pressure warmer area next to it the atmosphere wants to equalize the pressure. So high pressure flows to low pressure area, bringing that cold with it.

This is to the best of my understanding, I am not a meteorologist.