A tropical cyclone is a storm system A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather. It may be marked by strong wind, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), heavy precipitation, such as ice (ice storm), or wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere (as in a dust storm, snowstorm, characterized by a large low-pressure 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 cyclogenesis. Within the field of atmospheric center and numerous thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the thunderstorm is the cumulonimbus. Thunderstorms are that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when moist air The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78.09% nitrogen, 20.9 rises, resulting in condensation Condensation is the change in the phase of matter from the gaseous phase into liquid droplets or solid grains of the same element/ chemical species. Upon the slowing-down of the atoms/ molecules of the species, the overall attraction forces between these prevail and bring them together at distances comparable to their sizes of water vapor Water vapor or water vapour , also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. Water vapor is one state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation of boiling liquid water or from the sublimation of ice. Under typical atmospheric conditions, water vapor is continuously generated by evaporation and removed by contained in the moist air. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such as nor'easters A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada. More specifically, it describes a low pressure area whose center of rotation is just off the East Coast, European windstorms A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic windstorm associated with areas of low pressure that track across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe. They are most common in the winter months. Deep low pressure areas are relatively common over the North Atlantic and frequently track past the north coasts of Great Britain and Ireland onto the, and polar lows A polar low is a small-scale, short-lived atmospheric low pressure system that is found over the ocean areas poleward of the main polar front in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The systems usually have a horizontal length scale of less than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) and exist for no more than a couple of days. They are part of the, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems. Tropical cyclones originate in the doldrums The Doldrums, also called the "equatorial calms", are the calms and light baffling winds at the intertropical convergence zone. The zone is a band, encircling the Earth just north of the equator, where the winds from the northern and southern hemispheres come together about 10 degrees away from the 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. The capitalized term Equator refers to the Earth's equator.
The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical The tropics is a region of the Earth by the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23° 26′ 16″ N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23° 26′ 16″ ( or 23.438° ) S. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see regions of the globe, and their formation in maritime tropical air masses In meteorology, an air mass is a large volume of air defined by its temperature and water vapor content. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adopt the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to latitude and their continental or maritime source regions. Colder air masses are termed polar. The term "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale cyclonic circulations are centered on areas of nature, with counterclockwise A clockwise motion is one that proceeds 'like the clock's hands': from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top. In a mathematical sense, a circle defined parametrically in a positive Cartesian plane by the equations x = sin t and y = cos t is traced clockwise as t increases in value. Described another way, rotation in the Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator. Earth's northern hemisphere contains most of its land area and most of its human population and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere (from the Greek word σφαιρα +ημι(half)) literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone.
While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops of water heavy, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge Storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically a tropical cyclone. Storm surge is caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea level. Low pressure at the center of a weather system also has a small secondary effect, as well as spawning tornadoes A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. This is why coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, up to 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the coastline. Although their effects on human populations can be devastating, tropical cyclones can also relieve drought A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, conditions. They also carry heat and energy away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold. But in continental areas, such as Asia and central North America the variations between summer and winter can be extreme latitudes Latitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body) north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west (or west to east) on maps (particularly so in the Mercator projection) that run either north or south of the equator, which makes them an important part of the global atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air, and the means by which thermal energy is distributed on the surface of the Earth mechanism. As a result, tropical cyclones help to maintain equilibrium in the Earth's troposphere The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols, and to maintain a relatively stable and warm temperature worldwide.
Many tropical cyclones develop Tropical cyclogenesis is the technical term describing the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which mid-latitude cyclogenesis occurs. Tropical cyclogenesis involves the development of a warm-core cyclone, due to when the atmospheric conditions around a weak disturbance in the atmosphere are favorable. The background environment is modulated by climatological cycles and patterns such as the Madden-Julian oscillation The Madden–Julian oscillation is an equatorial traveling pattern of anomalous rainfall that is planetary in scale. The MJO is characterized by an eastward progression of large regions of both enhanced and suppressed tropical rainfall, observed mainly over the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The anomalous rainfall is usually first evident over, El Niño-Southern Oscillation El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean on average every five years, but over a period which varies from three to seven years, and is therefore, widely and significantly, known as "quasi-periodic." ENSO is best-known for its association with floods, droughts and other, and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation The Atlantic multidecadal oscillation is a mode of variability occurring in the North Atlantic Ocean and which has its principal expression in the sea surface temperature (SST) field. While there is some support for this mode in models and in historical observations, controversy exists with regard to its amplitude, and in particular, the. Others form when other types of cyclones acquire tropical characteristics. Tropical systems are then moved by steering winds in the troposphere The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols; if the conditions remain favorable, the tropical disturbance intensifies, and can even develop an eye The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30–65 km in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weather of a cyclone occurs. The cyclone's lowest barometric pressure occurs in the. On the other end of the spectrum, if the conditions around the system deteriorate or the tropical cyclone makes landfall, the system weakens and eventually dissipates. It is not possible to artificially induce the dissipation of these systems with current technology.
Physical structure
See also: Eye (cyclone) Structure of a tropical cycloneAll tropical cyclones are areas of low atmospheric pressure near the Earth's surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on Earth's surface at sea level.[1] Tropical cyclones are characterized and driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation, which occurs when moist air is carried upwards and its water vapor condenses. This heat is distributed vertically around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude (except close to the surface, where water temperature dictates air temperature) the environment inside the cyclone is warmer than its outer surroundings.[2]
Eye and center
A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. If this area is strong enough, it can develop into a large "eye". Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds, although the sea may be extremely violent.[3] The eye is normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 370 kilometres (230 mi) in diameter.[4][5] Intense, mature tropical cyclones can sometimes exhibit an outward curving of the eyewall's top, making it resemble a football stadium; this phenomenon is thus sometimes referred to as the stadium effect.[6]
There are other features that either surround the eye, or cover it. The central dense overcast is the concentrated area of strong thunderstorm activity near the center of a tropical cyclone;[7] in weaker tropical cyclones, the CDO may cover the center completely.[8] The eyewall is a circle of strong thunderstorms that surrounds the eye; here is where the greatest wind speeds are found, where clouds reach the highest, and precipitation is the heaviest. The heaviest wind damage occurs where a tropical cyclone's eyewall passes over land.[3] Eyewall replacement cycles occur naturally in intense tropical cyclones. When cyclones reach peak intensity they usually have an eyewall and radius of maximum winds that contract to a very small size, around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to 25 kilometres (16 mi). Outer rainbands can organize into an outer ring of thunderstorms that slowly moves inward and robs the inner eyewall of its needed moisture and angular momentum. When the inner eyewall weakens, the tropical cyclone weakens (in other words, the maximum sustained winds weaken and the central pressure rises.) The outer eyewall replaces the inner one completely at the end of the cycle. The storm can be of the same intensity as it was previously or even stronger after the eyewall replacement cycle finishes. The storm may strengthen again as it builds a new outer ring for the next eyewall replacement.[9]
| Size descriptions of tropical cyclones | |
|---|---|
| ROCI | Type |
| Less than 2 degrees latitude | Very small/midget |
| 2 to 3 degrees of latitude | Small |
| 3 to 6 degrees of latitude | Medium/Average |
| 6 to 8 degrees of latitude | Large anti-dwarf |
| Over 8 degrees of latitude | Very large[10] |
|
Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:10:29 GMT+00:00
KRIS Corpus Christi News Keep your eyes on the tropical disturbance in the Caribbean Sea. National Hurricane Center says, there is a 40% chance of it becoming a tropical cyclone ... Tomorrow's forecast today for southwest Alabama al.com (blog)
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ue, 20 Jul 2010 19:54:18 GM
Cyclone Updates. Tropical Storm Agatha Tropical Storm Agatha made landfall this weekend in El Salvador and Guatemala, and crossed into the western Caribbean. Tropical Storm Phet . Tropical Cyclone. Phet at 06:55 UTC (2:55 a.m. EDT or 6:55 ...
Q. 31 Please only respond if you are positive of your answers please, i cannot afford to get any questions wrong thanks! With regard to the naming of tropical cyclones, ___ is to the Caribbean as ___ is to the Western Pacific. Choose one answer. a. Chubasco, Monsoon b. Papagayo, Kamsin c. Hurricane, Typhoon d. El Viento, Kaminari
Asked by Jack H - Sun Mar 8 00:27:54 2009 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments
A. The answer is 'C'. The Caribbean has hurricanes and the season is from June 1- November 30. Tropical cyclones are known by different names in different parts of the world (Fig. 1): hurricanes in the tropical North Atlantic and Caribbean; typhoons in the north-eastern Pacific; and simply as tropical cyclones in the south-western Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Answered by Highly Favoured - Mon Mar 9 18:02:28 2009
