Re: what creates and affects wind patterns globally and locally?

It all starts with the sun.  Incoming solar radiation heats the land and 
water surfaces, which in turn re-radiate energy heating the atmosphere 
overlying them.  Differential heating (heating at different rates due to 
differences in the surface doing the re-radiating) creates areas of 
relatively lower and higher pressure.  The relationship between temperature 
and pressure is given by: 
P = (Density) x (Constant) x (Temperature)
The resulting pressure gradient force causes the wind to move from areas of 
high pressure toward areas of low pressure.  This movement of air is the 
wind.  

Some factors affecting global circulation include:  1)  The Coriolis 
Effect, which arises from the fact that the earth is rotating beneath the 
atmosphere.  2)  The positions of continental land masses and oceans which 
affects ocean circulation patterns, ocean temperatures and in turn the 
heating of the overlying atmosphere.  3)  Large scale terrain features like 
the Rocky Mountains and the Himalyas which deflect the wind flow at various 
levels in the atmosphere forcing winds upward or downward.  In the case of 
Mount Everest, this deflection reaches well above 25,000 ft. into the 
region of the jet stream.

Local effects can arise from smaller scale terrain features which may cause 
local lifting or downward motion, bodies of water which may produce sea or 
lake breezes due to differential heating,  and even frictional effects with 
the land surface which may turn or slow the wind from its original speed 
and direction.  Very localized effects can be produced by tall buildings 
which may create wind flows not represented by the general flow away from 
the city.  

Learn more about wind from these links:
USATODAY

The 
University of Illinois' On-Line Meteorology Guide

Texas A&M University's Laboratory for the Exploration of Atmospheric 
Processes