How to Use northwestward in a Sentence

northwestward

1 of 2 adverb or adjective
  • The system is expected to turn slowly northwestward by early next week.
    — Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
  • The storms progress northwestward and almost always bring either heavy rain or snow, along with gale-force winds and rough seas, which can lead to coastal flooding.
    — Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 16 Dec. 2022
  • Hurricane Florence is moving northwestward, and will be something to watch over the next week or so.
    — Janice Dean, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2018
  • The airy lodgepole pines seem to be patiently waiting for their Whitehorse brethren to drop their seeds northwestward.
    — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 19 June 2021
  • At this time, the system appears to be pushing northwestward away from Florida.
    — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 5 Oct. 2021
  • However, its chances diminish as the system moves northwestward and over cooler waters.
    — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 3 Aug. 2021
  • The system is expected to slowly develop over the week, moving northwestward at 20 miles per hour.
    — Hannah Gard and Haley Brink, CNN, 28 June 2021
  • Formation will take place while the system moves northward and northwestward over the central and western Caribbean.
    — Jordan King, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
  • The disturbance is expected to turn northwestward and then northward and will pass north of the Leeward Islands by the middle of next week.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 1 Aug. 2020
  • An area of low pressure could then form, and forecasters said some gradual development will be possible over the weekend as the system tracks northwestward.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 16 Aug. 2022
  • The system is forecast to move northwestward through Tuesday but then could stall several hundred miles southwest of Bermuda by later in the week.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 3 Aug. 2020
  • The system is expected to move northwestward toward the coast of Nicaragua and then enter the Gulf of Mexico by the weekend.
    — Stephen Ruiz, OrlandoSentinel.com, 4 Oct. 2017
  • The hurricane center expects that area of low pressure to meander today and then drift northwestward along the coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras this week.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 15 June 2022
  • As rain spreads north and northwestward by Wednesday night, the heaviest periods of rainfall could be late in the evening and into Thursday morning.
    — Rosemarie Stein | The Oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, 21 Mar. 2018
  • The hurricane center said Dorian was beginning to move northwestward and was expected pick up a little speed later today and tonight.
    — Mark H. Bickel, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2019
  • By early next week, Larry is expected to slow down and turn northwestward and, with a less favorable environment, begin to weaken slightly.
    — Monica Garrett, CNN, 3 Sep. 2021
  • The ridge of high pressure allowing for the warming will begin to move northwestward later in the weekend and should make room for more marine air and cooler temperatures by the beginning of next week.
    — oregonlive, 21 July 2021
  • Larry, a Category 3 hurricane, has continued moving northwestward with no change in strength.
    — Julia Musto, Fox News, 8 Sep. 2021
  • An influx of moist Gulf air will flow northwestward ahead of a low pressure/frontal system emerging onto the Plains coincident with the eastward progression of the upper low.
    — Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
  • The wave, located several hundreds miles off the African coast, had low chances of developing by early next week and is expected to move northwestward at 5 to 10 mph.
    — David Fleshler, sun-sentinel.com, 21 Aug. 2021
  • The storm is forecast to continue moving northwestward over the next several days, with gradual weakening expected to begin by Tuesday.
    — Fox News, 14 Sep. 2020
  • This is important to keep in mind over the next few days as Hurricane Dorian continues to move northwestward toward the United States.
    — Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2019
  • The storm’s center of circulation will drift into Honduras in the coming days and work northwestward before emerging over the Caribbean once again on Friday.
    — Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Earthquakes happen as the southwestern side of California slides up northwestward toward Alaska, compared to its northeastern half.
    — Rong-Gong Lin Ii, latimes.com, 13 July 2019
  • It is then expected to track northwestward across Florida before moving into southern Georgia, the hurricane center said Tuesday afternoon.
    — Freida Frisaro and Julie Walker, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Nov. 2022
  • The county is located in southwest Georgia, where Irma's center was churning northwestward toward Alabama on Monday afternoon.
    — CBS News, 11 Sep. 2017
  • This system is expected to move west-northwestward across the Caribbean and the Greater Antilles during the next few days, bringing locally heavy rainfall and possibly some flooding across portions of these islands, the hurricane center said.
    — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 30 July 2019
  • The wave is moving slowly northwestward into environmentally, friendly conditions for tropical development.
    — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 1 Oct. 2020
  • Gradual development is possible thereafter, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this weekend or early next week while the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea.
    — Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Gradual development is possible afterward, with the potential for a tropical depression to form late this weekend or early next week as the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea.
    — Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024

northwestward

2 of 2 noun
  • Those two things are expected to put Maria on a north-northwestward to northward path over the next few days.
    — Leigh Morgan, AL.com, 23 Sep. 2017
  • Paulette is forecast to continue to move west-northwestward through Friday.
    — Brooke Baitinger, orlandosentinel.com, 10 Sep. 2020
  • The hurricane is moving northwestward at around 13 mph.
    — Amanda Castro hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
  • The storm is expected to start moving around 10 mph northwestward again later today.
    — Beau Evans, NOLA.com, 20 June 2017
  • The storm has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph and moving north-northwestward at 7 mph.
    — CBS News, 4 Sep. 2019
  • The storm was moving westward at 14 miles an hour and still expected to make a west-northwestward turn on Tuesday.
    — Sun-Sentinel.com, 5 Sep. 2017
  • Zeta is nearly stationary, but a slow northwestward motion is expected later in the day.
    — Kyle Whitfield, NOLA.com, 25 Oct. 2020
  • The storm resumed a slow northwestward motion near the Virgin Islands Sunday night.
    — Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2022
  • It is projected to move west-northwestward but has only a 10% chance of developing over the next two days and a 20% chance over the next five days.
    — Anna Jones, NOLA.com, 6 Sep. 2020
  • The storm is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph, with a north-northwestward to northward motion expected over the next couple of days with a slowdown in forward speed.
    — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Nicholas wasn’t moving much as of Sunday evening but was expected to resume a north-northwestward motion at about 12 mph later tonight, the hurricane center said.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 12 Sep. 2021
  • There is an expectation of some development as the system moves slowly northward or north-northwestward, the NHC said.
    — Paola Pérez, orlandosentinel.com, 17 Oct. 2020
  • The area of disturbed weather likely to become Jerry is moving quickly west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic.
    — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Some slow development of this system is possible over the next day or two as the disturbance moves west-northwestward toward the northern Lesser Antilles.
    — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 3 Aug. 2019
  • Although the storm is moving northwestward at just under 5 mph, it's expected to turn northward before accelerating northeastward early next week.
    — Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Irma is moving toward the north near 14 mph and a north-northwestward motion with an increase in forward speed is expected by tonight, with that motion continuing through Monday.
    — CBS News, 10 Sep. 2017
  • The hurricane was moving west near 17 mph and a general westward to west-northwestward motion was forecast through Friday – followed by a general westward to west-southwestward motion.
    — Julia Musto, Fox News, 19 Aug. 2021
  • Marco is expected to continue a slightly slower northwestward motion for the next day or say, NHC forecasters said, before an increase in forward speed is expected by early next week.
    — Emma Discher, NOLA.com, 21 Aug. 2020
  • Forecasters say an area of low pressure could form later this week from a tropical wave near Africa, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic.
    — Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2022
  • The tropical storm is currently tracking west-northwestward at 35 kph (22 mph) according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
    — Hannah Gard and Taylor Ward, CNN, 26 July 2021
  • Forecasters say an area of low pressure located off Africa’s west coast could form into a tropical depression this week, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic.
    — Victoria Ballard, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022
  • Meanwhile, forecasters say an area of low pressure located off Africa’s west coast could form into a tropical depression this week, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic.
    — Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Upper-level winds are expected to remain unfavorable for development over the weekend while the system moves west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph and passes near or north of the Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands.
    — National Hurricane Center, NOLA.com, 13 Oct. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'northwestward.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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