jet streamâ High-speed winds usually found at high altitudes, just below the tropopause, between 25,000 and 45,000 ft. The term jet stream was coined by the first pilots who encountered this strong wind, to whom it seemed as though the air was being blown out of a gigantic nozzle or jet.he wind generated at polar fronts helps to power polar-front jet streams. tropopauseâ The zone in the atmosphere that divides the troposphere and the stratosphere. The altitude of the tropopause varies with latitude, being highest above the equator (about 12 miles) and lowest near the poles (less than five miles).