Cyclone

In met eorology, a cyclone (/ˈsaɪ.kloʊn/) is a large air mass t hat rot at es around a st rong cent er of
low at mospheric pressure, count erclockwise in t he Nort hern Hemisphere and clockwise in t he
Sout hern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposit e t o an ant icyclone).[1][2] Cyclones are
charact erized by inward-spiraling winds t hat rot at e about a zone of low pressure.[3][4] The largest
low-pressure syst ems are polar vort ices and ext rat ropical cyclones of t he largest scale (t he
synopt ic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as t ropical cyclones and subt ropical cyclones also lie
wit hin t he synopt ic scale.[5] Mesocyclones, t ornadoes, and dust devils lie wit hin t he smaller
mesoscale.[6]

An extratropical cyclone near Iceland

Upper level cyclones can exist wit hout t he presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from
t he base of t he t ropical upper t ropospheric t rough during t he summer mont hs in t he Nort hern
Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on ext rat errest rial planet s, such as Mars, Jupit er, and
Nept une.[7][8] Cyclogenesis is t he process of cyclone format ion and int ensificat ion.[9]
Ext rat ropical cyclones begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-lat it ude t emperat ure
cont rast s called baroclinic zones. These zones cont ract and form weat her front s as t he cyclonic
circulat ion closes and int ensifies. Lat er in t heir life cycle, ext rat ropical cyclones occlude as cold
air masses undercut t he warmer air and become cold core syst ems. A cyclone's t rack is guided
over t he course of it s 2 t o 6 day life cycle by t he st eering flow of t he subt ropical jet st ream.

Weat her front s mark t he boundary bet ween t wo masses of air of different t emperat ure,
humidit y, and densit ies, and are associat ed wit h t he most prominent met eorological phenomena.
St rong cold front s t ypically feat ure narrow bands of t hunderst orms and severe weat her, and may
on occasion be preceded by squall lines or dry lines. Such front s form west of t he circulat ion
cent er and generally move from west t o east ; warm front s form east of t he cyclone cent er and
are usually preceded by st rat iform precipit at ion and fog. Warm front s move poleward ahead of
t he cyclone pat h. Occluded front s form lat e in t he cyclone life cycle near t he cent er of t he
cyclone and oft en wrap around t he st orm cent er.

Tropical cyclogenesis describes t he process of development of t ropical cyclones. Tropical

cyclones form due t o lat ent heat driven by significant t hunderst orm act ivit y, and are warm
core.[10][11] Cyclones can t ransit ion bet ween ext rat ropical, subt ropical, and t ropical phases.[12]
Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead t o t ornado format ion.[13]
Wat erspout s can also form from mesocyclones, but more oft en develop from environment s of
high inst abilit y and low vert ical wind shear.[14] In t he At lant ic and t he nort heast ern Pacific oceans,
a t ropical cyclone is generally referred t o as a hurricane (from t he name of t he ancient Cent ral
American deit y of wind, Huracan), in t he Indian and sout h Pacific oceans it is called a cyclone, and
in t he nort hwest ern Pacific it is called a t yphoon.[15] The growt h of inst abilit y in t he vort ices is
not universal. For example, t he size, int ensit y, moist -convect ion, surface evaporat ion, t he value
of pot ent ial t emperat ure at each pot ent ial height can affect t he nonlinear evolut ion of a
vort ex.[16][17]

Nomenclature
Henry Piddingt on published 40 papers dealing wit h t ropical st orms from Calcut t a bet ween 1836
and 1855 in The Journal of the Asiatic Society. He also coined t he t erm cyclone, meaning t he coil
of a snake. In 1842, he published his landmark t hesis, Laws of the Storms .[18]
Structure

Comparison between extratropical

and tropical cyclones on surface
analysis

There are a number of st ruct ural charact erist ics common t o all cyclones. A cyclone is a low-
pressure area.[19] A cyclone's cent er (oft en known in a mat ure t ropical cyclone as t he eye), is t he
area of lowest at mospheric pressure in t he region.[19] Near t he cent er, t he pressure gradient
force (from t he pressure in t he cent er of t he cyclone compared t o t he pressure out side t he
cyclone) and t he force from t he Coriolis effect must be in an approximat e balance, or t he
cyclone would collapse on it self as a result of t he difference in pressure.[20]

Because of t he Coriolis effect , t he wind flow around a large cyclone is count erclockwise in t he
Nort hern Hemisphere and clockwise in t he Sout hern Hemisphere.[21] In t he Nort hern Hemisphere,
t he fast est winds relat ive t o t he surface of t he Eart h t herefore occur on t he east ern side of a
nort hward-moving cyclone and on t he nort hern side of a west ward-moving one; t he opposit e
occurs in t he Sout hern Hemisphere.[22] In cont rast t o low-pressure syst ems, t he wind flow around
high-pressure syst ems are clockwise (ant icyclonic) in t he nort hern hemisphere, and
count erclockwise in t he sout hern hemisphere.
Formation

The initial extratropical low-pressure

area forms at the location of the red
dot on the image. It is usually
perpendicular (at a right angle to) the
leaf-like cloud formation seen on
satellite during the early stage of
cyclogenesis. The location of the axis
of the upper level jet stream is in light
blue.

Tropical cyclones form when the

energy released by the condensation
of moisture in rising air causes a
positive feedback loop over warm
ocean waters.[23]

Cyclogenesis is t he development or st rengt hening of cyclonic circulat ion in t he at mosphere.[9]

Cyclogenesis is an umbrella t erm for several different processes t hat all result in t he
development of some sort of cyclone.[24] It can occur at various scales, from t he microscale t o
t he synopt ic scale.

Ext rat ropical cyclones begin as waves along weat her front s before occluding lat er in t heir life
cycle as cold-core syst ems. However, some int ense ext rat ropical cyclones can become warm-
core syst ems when a warm seclusion occurs.
Tropical cyclones form as a result of significant convect ive act ivit y, and are warm core.[11]
Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead t o t ornado format ion.[13]
Wat erspout s can also form from mesocyclones, but more oft en develop from environment s of
high inst abilit y and low vert ical wind shear.[14] Cyclolysis is t he opposit e of cyclogenesis, and is
t he high-pressure syst em equivalent , which deals wit h t he format ion of high-pressure areas—
Ant icyclogenesis.[25]

A surface low can form in a variet y of ways. Topography can creat e a surface low. Mesoscale
convect ive syst ems can spawn surface lows t hat are init ially warm-core.[26] The dist urbance can
grow int o a wave-like format ion along t he front and t he low is posit ioned at t he crest . Around t he
low, t he flow becomes cyclonic. This rot at ional flow moves polar air t owards t he equat or on t he
west side of t he low, while warm air move t owards t he pole on t he east side. A cold front
appears on t he west side, while a warm front forms on t he east side. Usually, t he cold front
moves at a quicker pace t han t he warm front and "cat ches up" wit h it due t o t he slow erosion of
higher densit y air mass out ahead of t he cyclone. In addit ion, t he higher densit y air mass
sweeping in behind t he cyclone st rengt hens t he higher pressure, denser cold air mass. The cold
front over t akes t he warm front , and reduces t he lengt h of t he warm front .[27] At t his point an
occluded front forms where t he warm air mass is pushed upwards int o a t rough of warm air aloft ,
which is also known as a t rowal.[28]

Tropical cyclogenesis is t he development and st rengt hening of a t ropical cyclone.[29] The

mechanisms by which t ropical cyclogenesis occurs are dist inct ly different from t hose t hat
produce mid-lat it ude cyclones. Tropical cyclogenesis, t he development of a warm-core cyclone,
begins wit h significant convect ion in a favorable at mospheric environment . There are six main
requirement s for t ropical cyclogenesis:

1. sufficiently warm sea surface

temperatures,[30]
2. atmospheric instability,
 3. high humidity in the lower to middle
levels of the troposphere
4. enough Coriolis force to develop a
low-pressure center
5. a preexisting low-level focus or
disturbance
6. low vertical wind shear.[31]
An average of 86 t ropical cyclones of t ropical st orm int ensit y form annually worldwide,[32] wit h
47 reaching hurricane/t yphoon st rengt h, and 20 becoming int ense t ropical cyclones (at least
Cat egory 3 int ensit y on t he Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale).[33]
Synoptic scale

A fictitious synoptic chart of an

extratropical cyclone affecting the UK
and Ireland. The blue arrows between
isobars indicate the direction of the
wind, while the "L" symbol denotes
the centre of the "low". Note the
occluded, cold and warm frontal
boundaries.

The following t ypes of cyclones are ident ifiable in synopt ic chart s.

Surface-based types
There are t hree main t ypes of surface-based cyclones: Ext rat ropical cyclones, Subt ropical
cyclones and Tropical cyclones

Extratropical cyclone
An extratropical cyclone is a synopt ic scale low-pressure weat her syst em t hat does not have
t ropical charact erist ics,[34] as it is connect ed wit h front s and horizont al gradient s (rat her t han
vert ical) in t emperat ure and dew point ot herwise known as "baroclinic zones".[35]
"Ext rat ropical" is applied t o cyclones out side t he t ropics, in t he middle lat it udes. These syst ems
may also be described as "mid-lat it ude cyclones" due t o t heir area of format ion, or "post -t ropical
cyclones" when a t ropical cyclone has moved (ext rat ropical t ransit ion) beyond t he t ropics.[35][36]
They are oft en described as "depressions" or "lows" by weat her forecast ers and t he general
public. These are t he everyday phenomena t hat , along wit h ant icyclones, drive weat her over
much of t he Eart h.

Alt hough ext rat ropical cyclones are almost always classified as baroclinic since t hey form along
zones of t emperat ure and dewpoint gradient wit hin t he west erlies, t hey can somet imes become
barot ropic lat e in t heir life cycle when t he t emperat ure dist ribut ion around t he cyclone becomes
fairly uniform wit h radius.[37] An ext rat ropical cyclone can t ransform int o a subt ropical st orm, and
from t here int o a t ropical cyclone, if it dwells over warm wat ers sufficient t o warm it s core, and
as a result develops cent ral convect ion.[38] A part icularly int ense t ype of ext rat ropical cyclone
t hat st rikes during wint er is known colloquially as a nor'easter.

Polar low

A polar low over the Sea of Japan in

December 2009

A polar low is a small-scale, short -lived at mospheric low-pressure syst em (depression) t hat is
found over t he ocean areas poleward of t he main polar front in bot h t he Nort hern and Sout hern
Hemispheres. Polar lows were first ident ified on t he met eorological sat ellit e imagery t hat
became available in t he 1960s, which revealed many small-scale cloud vort ices at high lat it udes.
The most act ive polar lows are found over cert ain ice-free marit ime areas in or near t he Arct ic
during t he wint er, such as t he Norwegian Sea, Barent s Sea, Labrador Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Polar
lows dissipat e rapidly when t hey make landfall. Ant arct ic syst ems t end t o be weaker t han t heir
nort hern count erpart s since t he air-sea t emperat ure differences around t he cont inent are
generally smaller. However, vigorous polar lows can be found over t he Sout hern Ocean. During
wint er, when cold-core lows wit h t emperat ures in t he mid-levels of t he t roposphere reach −45 °C
(−49 °F) move over open wat ers, deep convect ion forms, which allows polar low development t o
become possible.[39] The syst ems usually have a horizont al lengt h scale of less t han 1,000
kilomet res (620 mi) and exist for no more t han a couple of days. They are part of t he larger class
of mesoscale weat her syst ems. Polar lows can be difficult t o det ect using convent ional weat her
report s and are a hazard t o high-lat it ude operat ions, such as shipping and gas and oil plat forms.
Polar lows have been referred t o by many ot her t erms, such as polar mesoscale vort ex, Arct ic
hurricane, Arct ic low, and cold air depression. Today t he t erm is usually reserved for t he more
vigorous syst ems t hat have near-surface winds of at least 17 m/s.[40]

Subtropical

Subtropical Storm Alex in the north

Atlantic Ocean in January 2016

A subtropical cyclone is a weat her syst em t hat has some charact erist ics of a t ropical cyclone
and some charact erist ics of an ext rat ropical cyclone. They can form bet ween t he equat or and
t he 50t h parallel.[41] As early as t he 1950s, met eorologist s were unclear whet her t hey should be
charact erized as t ropical cyclones or ext rat ropical cyclones, and used t erms such as quasi-
t ropical and semi-t ropical t o describe t he cyclone hybrids.[42] By 1972, t he Nat ional Hurricane
Cent er officially recognized t his cyclone cat egory.[43] Subt ropical cyclones began t o receive
names off t he official t ropical cyclone list in t he At lant ic Basin in 2002.[41] They have broad wind
pat t erns wit h maximum sust ained winds locat ed fart her from t he cent er t han t ypical t ropical
cyclones, and exist in areas of weak t o moderat e t emperat ure gradient .[41]

Since t hey form from ext rat ropical cyclones, which have colder t emperat ures aloft t han normally
found in t he t ropics, t he sea surface t emperat ures required is around 23 degrees Celsius (73 °F)
for t heir format ion, which is t hree degrees Celsius (5 °F) lower t han for t ropical cyclones.[44] This
means t hat subt ropical cyclones are more likely t o form out side t he t radit ional bounds of t he
hurricane season. Alt hough subt ropical st orms rarely have hurricane-force winds, t hey may
become t ropical in nat ure as t heir cores warm.[45]

Tropical

2017 Atlantic hurricane season

summary map

A tropical cyclone is a st orm syst em charact erized by a low-pressure cent er and numerous
t hunderst orms t hat produce st rong winds and flooding rain.[46] A t ropical cyclone feeds on heat
released when moist air rises, result ing in condensat ion of wat er vapour cont ained in t he moist
air.[46] They are fueled by a different heat mechanism t han ot her cyclonic windst orms such as
nor'east ers, European windst orms, and polar lows, leading t o t heir classificat ion as "warm core"
st orm syst ems.[46][11]
 Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical
cyclone viewed from the International Space
Station on March 26, 2004

The t erm "t ropical" refers t o bot h t he geographic origin of t hese syst ems, which form almost
exclusively in t ropical regions of t he globe,[47] and t heir dependence on Marit ime Tropical air
masses for t heir format ion. The t erm "cyclone" refers t o t he st orms' cyclonic nat ure, wit h
count erclockwise rot at ion in t he Nort hern Hemisphere and clockwise rot at ion in t he Sout hern
Hemisphere.[47] Depending on t heir locat ion and st rengt h, t ropical cyclones are referred t o by
ot her names, such as hurricane, t yphoon, t ropical st orm, cyclonic st orm, t ropical depression, or
simply as a cyclone.[47]

While t ropical cyclones can produce ext remely powerful winds and t orrent ial rain, t hey are also
able t o produce high waves and a damaging st orm surge.[48] Their winds increase t he wave size,
and in so doing t hey draw more heat and moist ure int o t heir syst em, t hereby increasing t heir
st rengt h. They develop over large bodies of warm wat er,[49] and hence lose t heir st rengt h if t hey
move over land.[50] This is t he reason coast al regions can receive significant damage from a
t ropical cyclone, while inland regions are relat ively safe from st rong winds.[47] Heavy rains,
however, can produce significant flooding inland.[47] St orm surges are rises in sea level caused by
t he reduced pressure of t he core t hat in effect "sucks" t he wat er upward and from winds t hat in
effect "pile" t he wat er up. St orm surges can produce ext ensive coast al flooding up t o 40
kilomet res (25 mi) from t he coast line.[47] Alt hough t heir effect s on human populat ions can be
devast at ing, t ropical cyclones can also relieve drought condit ions.[51] They also carry heat and
energy away from t he t ropics and t ransport it t oward t emperat e lat it udes,[47] which makes t hem
an import ant part of t he global at mospheric circulat ion mechanism. As a result , t ropical cyclones
help t o maint ain equilibrium in t he Eart h's t roposphere.[47]

Many t ropical cyclones develop when t he at mospheric condit ions around a weak dist urbance in
t he at mosphere are favorable.[47] Ot hers form when ot her t ypes of cyclones acquire t ropical
charact erist ics. Tropical syst ems are t hen moved by st eering winds in t he t roposphere; if t he
condit ions remain favorable, t he t ropical dist urbance int ensifies, and can even develop an eye. On
t he ot her end of t he spect rum, if t he condit ions around t he syst em det eriorat e or t he t ropical
cyclone makes landfall, t he syst em weakens and event ually dissipat es. A t ropical cyclone can
become ext rat ropical as it moves t oward higher lat it udes if it s energy source changes from heat
released by condensat ion t o differences in t emperat ure bet ween air masses.[11] A t ropical
cyclone is usually not considered t o become subt ropical during it s ext rat ropical t ransit ion.[52]

Atlantic hurricane

Pacific hurricane
 Pacific typhoon

North Indian Ocean cyclone

 South Pacific cyclone

Australian region cyclone

 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone

Upper level types

Polar cyclone
A polar , sub-polar , or Arctic cyclone (also known as a polar vort ex)[53] is a vast area of low
pressure t hat st rengt hens in t he wint er and weakens in t he summer.[54] A polar cyclone is a low-
pressure weat her syst em, usually spanning 1,000 kilomet res (620 mi) t o 2,000 kilomet res
(1,200 mi),[55] in which t he air circulat es in a count erclockwise direct ion in t he nort hern
hemisphere, and a clockwise direct ion in t he sout hern hemisphere. The Coriolis accelerat ion
act ing on t he air masses moving poleward at high alt it ude, causes a count erclockwise circulat ion
at high alt it ude. The poleward movement of air originat es from t he air circulat ion of t he Polar
cell. The polar low is not driven by convect ion as are t ropical cyclones, nor t he cold and warm air
mass int eract ions as are ext rat ropical cyclones, but is an art ifact of t he global air movement of
t he Polar cell. The base of t he polar low is in t he mid t o upper t roposphere. In t he Nort hern
Hemisphere, t he polar cyclone has t wo cent ers on average. One cent er lies near Baffin Island and
t he ot her over nort heast Siberia.[53] In t he sout hern hemisphere, it t ends t o be locat ed near t he
edge of t he Ross ice shelf near 160 west longit ude.[56] When t he polar vort ex is st rong, it s
effect can be felt at t he surface as a west erly wind (t oward t he east ). When t he polar cyclone
is weak, significant cold out breaks occur.[57]

TUTT cell
Under specific circumst ances, upper level cold lows can break off from t he base of t he t ropical
upper t ropospheric t rough (TUTT), which is locat ed mid-ocean in t he Nort hern Hemisphere during
t he summer mont hs. These upper t ropospheric cyclonic vort ices, also known as TUTT cells or
TUTT lows, usually move slowly from east -nort heast t o west -sout hwest , and t heir bases
generally do not ext end below 20,000 feet (6,100 m) in alt it ude. A weak invert ed surface t rough
wit hin t he t rade wind is generally found underneat h t hem, and t hey may also be associat ed wit h
broad areas of high-level clouds. Downward development result s in an increase of cumulus
clouds and t he appearance of a surface vort ex. In rare cases, t hey become warm-core t ropical
cyclones. Upper cyclones and t he upper t roughs t hat t rail t ropical cyclones can cause addit ional
out flow channels and aid in t heir int ensificat ion. Developing t ropical dist urbances can help creat e
or deepen upper t roughs or upper lows in t heir wake due t o t he out flow jet emanat ing from t he
developing t ropical dist urbance/cyclone.[58][59]

Mesoscale
The following t ypes of cyclones are not ident ifiable in synopt ic chart s.

Mesocyclone
A mesocyclone is a vort ex of air, 2.0 kilomet res (1.2 mi) t o 10 kilomet res (6.2 mi) in diamet er
(t he mesoscale of met eorology), wit hin a convect ive st orm.[60] Air rises and rot at es around a
vert ical axis, usually in t he same direct ion as low-pressure syst ems[61] in bot h nort hern and
sout hern hemisphere. They are most oft en cyclonic, t hat is, associat ed wit h a localized low-
pressure region wit hin a supercell.[61][62] Such st orms can feat ure st rong surface winds and
severe hail.[61] Mesocyclones oft en occur t oget her wit h updraft s in supercells, where t ornadoes
may form.[61] About 1,700 mesocyclones form annually across t he Unit ed St at es, but only half
produce t ornadoes.[13]

Tornado
A t ornado is a violent ly rot at ing column of air t hat is in cont act wit h bot h t he surface of t he
eart h and a cumulonimbus cloud or,[63] in rare cases, t he base of a cumulus cloud. Also referred t o
as t wist ers, a colloquial t erm in America, or cyclones, alt hough t he word cyclone is used in
met eorology, in a wider sense, t o name any closed low-pressure circulat ion.

Dust devil
A dust devil is a st rong, well-formed, and relat ively long-lived whirlwind,[64] ranging from small
(half a met re wide and a few met res t all) t o large (more t han 10 met res wide and more t han 1000
met res t all).[64] The primary vert ical mot ion is upward.[64] Dust devils are usually harmless, but can
on rare occasions grow large enough t o pose a t hreat t o bot h people and propert y.[64]

Waterspout
A wat erspout is a columnar vort ex forming over wat er t hat is, in it s most common form, a non-
supercell t ornado over wat er t hat is connect ed t o a cumuliform cloud. While it is oft en weaker
t han most of it s land count erpart s, st ronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur.
Steam devil
A gent le vort ex over calm wat er or wet land made visible by rising wat er vapour.

Fire whirl
A fire whirl – also colloquially known as a fire devil, fire t ornado, firenado, or fire t wist er – is a
whirlwind induced by a fire and oft en made up of flame or ash.

Other planets

Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope

Cyclones are not unique t o Eart h. Cyclonic st orms are common on Jovian planet s, such as t he
Small Dark Spot on Nept une.[65] It is about one t hird t he diamet er of t he Great Dark Spot and
received t he nickname "Wizard's Eye" because it looks like an eye. This appearance is caused by a
whit e cloud in t he middle of t he Wizard's Eye.[8] Mars has also exhibit ed cyclonic st orms.[7] Jovian
st orms like t he Great Red Spot are usually mist akenly named as giant hurricanes or cyclonic
st orms. However, t his is inaccurat e, as t he Great Red Spot is, in fact , t he inverse phenomenon, an
ant icyclone.[66]
See also

Weather
portal
Tropical
cyclones
portal
Tornadoes
portal

Tropical cyclone
Subtropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclone
Tornado
Storm
Atlantic hurricane
Australian region tropical cyclone