For convergence zones of sonars, see Sonar#Sound propagation.

Convergence zone usually refers to a region in the atmosphere where two prevailing flows meet and interact, usually resulting in distinctive weather conditions.

An example of a convergence zone is the Intertropical Convergence Zone

Intertropical Convergence Zone

The Intertropical Convergence Zone , known by sailors as The Doldrums, is the area encircling the earth near the equator where winds originating in the northern and southern hemispheres come together....

(ITCZ), a low pressure area

Low pressure area

A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...

 which girdles the Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 at the Equator

Equator

An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....

. Another example is the South Pacific convergence zone

South Pacific convergence zone

The South Pacific Convergence Zone , a reverse-oriented monsoon trough, is a band of low-level convergence, cloudiness and precipitation extending from the west Pacific warm pool south-eastwards towards French Polynesia...

 that extends from the western Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 toward French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

.

A smaller example of a convergence zone occurs in the Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 region, known as the Puget Sound Convergence Zone

Puget Sound Convergence Zone

The Puget Sound Convergence Zone is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs over Puget Sound in Washington. It is formed when the large-scale air flow splits around the Olympic Mountains and then converges over Puget Sound...

. This happens when winds in the upper atmosphere are split by the Olympic Mountains

Olympic Mountains

The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...

. The winds then converge beyond the mountains, producing convection uplift that results in the development of clouds and even stormy weather.

Convergence zones can also be associated with sea breeze

Sea breeze

A sea-breeze is a wind from the sea that develops over land near coasts. It is formed by increasing temperature differences between the land and water; these create a pressure minimum over the land due to its relative warmth, and forces higher pressure, cooler air from the sea to move inland...

fronts.