Cyclone

Cyclones are huge revolving storms caused by winds blowing around a central
area of low atmospheric pressure. In the northern hemisphere, cyclones are called
hurricanes or typhoons and their winds blow in an anti-clockwise circle. In the
southern hemisphere, these tropical storms are known as cyclones, whose winds
blow in a clockwise circle.

How do Cyclones occur

Cyclones develop over warm seas near the Equator. Air heated by the sun rises
very swiftly, which creates areas of very low pressure. As the warm air rises, it
becomes loaded with moisture which condenses into massive thunderclouds. Cool
air rushes in to fill the void that is left, but because of the constant turning of the
Earth on its axis, the air is bent inwards and then spirals upwards with great force.
The swirling winds rotate faster and faster, forming a huge circle which can be up
to 2,000 km across. At the centre of the storm is a calm, cloudless area called the
eye, where there is no rain, and the winds are fairly light.
As the cyclone builds up it begins to move. It is sustained by a steady flow of
warm, moist air. The strongest winds and heaviest rains are found in the towering
clouds which merge into a wall about 20-30 km from the storm's centre. Winds
around the eye can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h, and a fully developed cyclone
pumps out about two million tonnes of air per second. This results in more rain
being released in a day than falls in a year in a city like London.

When and where do Cyclones occur

Cyclones begin in tropical regions, such as northern Australia, South-East Asia and
many Pacific islands. They sometimes drift into the temperate coastal areas,
threatening more heavily populated regions to the South. Northern Australia has
about four or five tropical cyclones every year during the summertime wet
season. For a cyclone to develop, the sea surface must have a temperature of at
least 26ºC.

Why do Cyclones occur

When warm air rises from the seas and condenses into clouds, massive amounts of
heat are released. The result of this mixture of heat and moisture is often a
collection of thunderstorms, from which a tropical storm can develop.
The trigger for most Atlantic hurricanes is an easterly wave, a band of low pressure
moving westwards, which may have begun as an African thunderstorm. Vigorous
thunderstorms and high winds combine to create a cluster of thunderstorms which
can become the seedling for a tropical storm.
Typhoons in the Far East and Cyclones in the Indian Ocean often develop from a
thunderstorm in the equatorial trough. During the hurricane season, the Coriolis
effect of the Earth's rotation starts the winds in the thunderstorm spinning in a
circular motion.
LIFE CYCLE
Formation

The formation of a tropical cyclone is dependent upon a number of favourable environmental

conditions which are frequently present in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. These include a
warm ocean surface (above 260C) and several physical parameters contributing to a deeply humid
and unstable atmosphere. The formation process begins in an area of low pressure coinciding with
vigorous convective cloud in the tropics between about 50 and 220 latitude. Usually the cloud cluster
drifts slowly towards the west as the convection increases and winds begin spiralling in towards the
system centre.

Prematurity

As the tropical low becomes further organised and the surface winds reach gale force it is then
declared a tropical cyclone according to international convention. Satellite and radar observations
of the system show the distinctive spiral banding pattern.

Full Maturity

If the ocean and atmosphere environment continues to be favourable the cyclone may continue to
intensify as it moves poleward. The cloud system becomes more circular in shape and develops a
distinct eye. This is the severe cyclone stage where the cyclone is at its most dangerous.
Approximately half of the cyclones that form progress to full maturity.

Decay

Tropical cyclones normally decay when they move into a less favourable environment, either over
land or the cooler waters in higher latitudes. The rate of decay varies with the circumstances. A
tropical cyclone moving into mid-latitude westerlies may be quickly sheared apart by strong upper
winds, or it may react with a frontal system and persists for several more days. Similarly, a cyclone
moving over land normally dissipates rapidly due to loss of its energy source, namely the warm
ocean surface. However in northern Australia cyclones moving inland are frequently observed to
persist as rain depressions for a number of days bringing widespread flood rains, and may even
redevelop if they move over the ocean once more.