Wind and isobars

[aswarmofmidges]

So an isobar is a line of constant pressure ( bit like contour lines )

But the wind doesn't flow from high to low but seems to go parallel to the isobar lines

What am I missing ?

The Coriolis force! Because the Earth rotates, this causes the wind to be deflected and follow the isobars.

as Cruncy Carrot says.

It doesn't go exactly parallel to the isobars though, as it does flow some towards the centre too.

Argh, autocorrect kicked (badly!) in with CrunchyCarrots name.