In this paper we apply a two-dimensional numerical model of the thermosphere in order to gain a better understanding of the observations of neutral winds and electric fields in the auroral zone presented in a companion paper. The model is zonally invariant with a resolution of 1/2¿ in the meridional direction and 1/2 scale height in the vertical. This allows inclusion of the sharp gradients in ionization density in and near the auroral oval. The model integration is carried out with the two-step Law-Wendroff method, which sustains the shorter spatial scales in the solutions with only slight damping. This is an improvement over other numerical methods in which it is necessary to filter out the smaller-scale components to avoid numerical instabilities. The model integration as well as analysis of the observed wind profiles shows that the Lorentz force and viscosity provide the dominant effects on the zonal wind component. The shape of the zonal wind profile is well reproduced by the model in spite of zonal invariance. The meridional wind component is affected by a complex interplay of Joule heating, the Lorentz force, and the background solar heating pressure gradient force. Neither the direction of the meridional wind nor the shape of the vertical profile could be consistently explained without a combination of these three forces.