Tropical cyclones, which are called hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere, are intense low pressure systems which form over warm ocean waters at low latitudes.
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This category covers the history and meteorology of specific tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons.
TROPICAL CYCLONES - These storms are also large scale, but much smaller than their extratropical cousins. Chasing them requires travel or flying to where the tropical system is.
Extratropical cyclones that form on the downwind (lee) side of a mountain chain. In the United States, they frequently form on the eastern side of the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas.
Leeward
The side away from the wind. Compare windward.
In extra-tropical cyclones, surface winds are deflected by friction towards the center of the low pressure system (red "L" below).
Typhoon: Tropical cyclones found in the western Pacific.
Ultraviolet Radiation: Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between approximately .2 to .4 microns.
>> Hurricanes, or tropical cyclones, form in an environment of little or no vertical wind shear.
See table below for differences between extratropical and tropical cyclones.FahrenheitThe standard scale used to measure temperature in the United States; in which the freezing point of water is 32 degrees and the boiling point is 212 degrees.
Advisories are also issued to describe: (a) tropical cyclones prior to issuance of watches and warnings and (b) subtropical cyclones.Tropical Analysis and Forecast BranchOne of three branches of the Tropical Prediction Center (TPC).
Storms range in scale from tornadoes and thunderstorms to tropical cyclones to synoptic-scale extratropical cyclones.
This center maintains a continuous watch on tropical cyclones over the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific from 15 May through November 30.
MCSs may be round or linear in shape, and include systems such as tropical cyclones, squall lines, and Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCs) (among others).
Some reach the American tropics and a few develop into tropical cyclones.West WallThe coast side boundary of the Gulf Stream, typically south of Cape Hatteras.
Hurricane SeasonThe part of the year having a relatively high incidence of tropical cyclones.
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER (NHC) A branch of the Tropical Prediction Center, it is the office of the National Weather Service that is responsible for tracking and forecasting tropical cyclones over the North Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, ...
In the eastern Pacific, they are issued for all tropical cyclones that are expected to affect land within 48 hours.
Tropical cyclones are initiated by a large variety of disturbances, including easterly waves and monsoon troughs.
sub-tropical cyclone - A cyclone in tropical or subtropical latitudes (from the equator to about 50°N) that has characteristics of both tropical cyclones and midlatitude (or extratropical) cyclones.
Fujiwhara EffectA binary interaction where tropical cyclones within a certain distance (300-750 nm depending on the sizes of the cyclones) of each other begin to rotate about a common midpoint.
In the western South Pacific and the Indian Ocean severe tropical cyclones (wind speeds of 74 mph or greater) are simply called cyclones. Australian, Indian, and east African weather services will use this term to describe such storms.
They are prepared for all tropical cyclones within a Tropical Cyclone Center's area of responsibility.
Hurricane - (also known as (Typhoon, Tropical Cyclones, Willy- Willies) Tropical storms with wind speeds of 64 knots (117km/h) up to 240 knots (414 km/h) that can be thousands of square kilometers in size.
Tropical cyclones are associated with extremely strong winds, torrential rain, storm surges (in coastal areas) and huge seas.
The general cause for tropical cyclones is somewhat known, although not entirely. Basically, a mass of very dry air called the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) forms over the Sahara Desert.
Hurricane: Terminology used for the Tropical Cyclones, with associated wind force above 64 knots, which occur in the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Mexican Golf and in the East Pacific Ocean, North of the equator, in the west coast of Mexico.
Tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are particularly devastating, because of the low coastal plains and the dense population. Australia is assailed by hurricanes from the Indian Ocean, the Coral Sea and the Pacific.
The term hurricane is used for Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones east of the International Dateline to the Greenwich Meridian. The term typhoon is used for Pacific tropical cyclones north of the Equator west of the International Dateline.
A low pressure system that develops over subtropical waters that initially has a non-tropical circulation but in which some elements of tropical cyclone cloud structure are present. Subtropical cyclones can evolve into tropical cyclones.
How tropical and extratropical cyclones differ
Tropical cyclone
Forms over a tropical ocean.
Center of storm is warmer than the surrounding air.
Has no fronts.
Strongest winds are near the Earth's surface. ...
A low pressure area which is warmer at its center than at its periphery. Tropical cyclones exhibit this temperature pattern. Unlike cold core lows, these lows produce much of their cloud cover and precipitation during the nighttime.
Warm Front ...
Mesoscale Pertaining to atmospheric phenomena having horizontal scales ranging from a few to several hundred kilometers, including thunderstorms, squall lines, fronts, precipitation bands in tropical and extratropical cyclones, ...
It is associated with tropical cyclones in the southeastern North Pacific Ocean. These storms may occur from May to November, but ordinarily affect the coastal areas most severely near or after the Feast of St. Francis, October 4.
EXTRATROPICAL- A low pressure system that did not develop in the tropics. Extratropical cyclones have a baroclinic energy regime. Extratropical can also be in reference to a tropical system that is losing tropical characteristics.
A branch of the Tropical Prediction Center, it is the office of the National Weather Service that is responsible for tracking and forecasting tropical cyclones over the North Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific.
NHC: National Hurricane Center. The office of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and forecasting tropical cyclones.
Tropical cyclones with sustained winds above 73 miles per hour are known as hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern North Pacific (east of the date line) and cyclones in the Indian Ocean.
Storm
(1) An atmospheric disturbance involving perturbations of the prevailing pressure and wind fields, on scales ranging from tornadoes (1km across) to extratropical cyclones (2000-3000km across). (2) Wind with a speed between 48 and 55 knots.
tropical cyclone—A general term for a cyclone that originates over tropical oceans. By international agreement, tropical cyclones have been classified according to their intensity, as follows: ...
complete with winds, clouds, and precipitation. The name is associated with destructive or unpleasant weather. Storm-scale refers to disturbances the size of individual thunderstorms. Related terms: thunderstorms, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones ...
 See also: Cyclone, Tropical cyclone, Storm, Weather, Meteor
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