1/3/2020 Tropical cyclone - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A tropical cyclone is a circular air movement that starts over the warm ocean waters in the warm
part of Earth near the Equator. Most tropical cyclones create fast winds and great rains. While
some tropical cyclones stay out in the sea, others pass over land. They can be dangerous
because of flooding and because the winds pick up objects, including things as big as small
boats. Tropical cyclones can throw these things at high speeds.

Tropical cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons form when convection causes warm, moist air above
the ocean to rise. They begin as a group of storms when the water gets as hot as 80 °F (27 °C) or
hotter. The Coriolis effect made by the Earth's rotation causes the winds to rotate. Warm air rises
quickly. Tropical cyclones usually move westward in the tropics, and can later move north or
south into the temperate zone. The "eye of the storm" is the center. It has little rain or wind. The
eyewall has the heaviest rain and the fastest winds. It is surrounded by rainbands which also have
fast winds.

Tropical cyclones are powered by warm, humid ocean air. When they go onto land, they weaken.
They die when they spend a long time over land or cool ocean water.

Hurricane Juan (1985)

Hurricane Rita 24 hours after its peak

intensity

Tropical cyclone, typhoon or hurricane

The term "tropical cyclone" is a summary term. In various places tropical cyclones have other
local names such as "hurricane" and "typhoon".[1] A tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic
Ocean is called a hurricane.[1] The word hurricane is also used for those that form in the eastern,

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central and northern Pacific.[2] In the western Pacific a tropical cyclone is called a typhoon.[2] In
the Indian Ocean it is called a "cyclone".

Naming

See also: Lists of tropical cyclone names

Tropical cyclones are usually given names because it helps in forecasting, locating, and reporting.
They are named once they have steady winds of 62 km/h. Committees of the World
Meteorological Organization pick names. Once named, a cyclone is usually not renamed.[3]

For several hundred years hurricanes were named after saints.[4] In 1887, Australian
meteorologist Clement Wragge began giving women's names to tropical cyclones.[5] He thought
of history and mythology for names. When he used men's names, they were usually of politicians
he hated.[5] By World War II cyclone names were based on the phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker,
Charlie).[6] In 1953 the United States stopped using phonetic names and began using female
names for these storms.[6] This ended in 1978 when both male and female names were used for
Pacific storms. In 1979 this practice was added for hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the
Atlantic.[6]

Impact

Gulfport, Mississippi:
damaged city struck by
Hurricane Katrina, 2005.

In the past these storms sank many ships. Better weather forecasting in the 20th century helped
most ships avoid them. When tropical cyclones reach land, they may break things. Sometimes
they kill people and destroy cities. In the last 200 years, about 1.5 million people have been killed
by tropical cyclones.

Wind can cause up to 83% of the total damages of a storm. Broken wreckage from destroyed
objects can become deadly flying pieces.[7] Flooding can also occur when a lot of rain falls and/or
when storm surges push water onto the land.[8]

There is a possibility of "indirect" deaths after a tropical cyclone passes. For example, New
Orleans, Louisiana suffered from poor health conditions after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.[9]

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Classifications

Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category Wind speeds
≥70 m/s, ≥137 knots
Five
≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h
58–70 m/s, 113–136 knots
Four
130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h
50–58 m/s, 96–112 knots
Three
111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h
43–49 m/s, 83–95 knots
Two
96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h
33–42 m/s, 64–82 knots
One
74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h

Related classifications
Tropical 18–32 m/s, 34–63 knots
storm 39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h
Tropical ≤17 m/s, ≤33 knots
depression ≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h

See also: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Tropical cyclones are classified into different categories by their strength and location. The
National Hurricane Center, which observes hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern and
Central Pacific Ocean, classifies them using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

Tropical cylones in other places such as the Western Pacific Ocean or the Southern Hemisphere
are classified on scales that are quite a bit like the Saffir-Simpson Scale. For example; if a tropical
storm in the western Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds, it is then officially called a
typhoon.

A tropical depression is an organized group of clouds and thunderstorms with a clear

circulation in air near the ocean and maximum continuing winds of less than 17 m/s (33 kt, 38
mph, or 62 km/h). It has no eye and does not usually have the spiral shape that more powerful
storms have. Only the Philippines are known to name tropical depressions.

A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a very clear surface
circulation and continuing winds between 17 and 32 m/s (34–63 kt, 39–73 mph, or 62–117 km/h).
At this point, the cyclonic shape starts to form, although an eye does not usually appear in
tropical storms. Most tropical cyclone agencies start naming cyclonic storms at this level, except
for the Philippines which have their own way of naming cyclones.
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A hurricane or typhoon or a cyclone is a large cyclonic weather system with continuing winds
of at least 33 m/s (64 kt, 74 mph, or 118 km/h). A tropical cyclone with this wind speed usually
develops an eye, which is an area of calm conditions at the center of its circulation. The eye is
often seen from space as a small, round, cloud-free spot. Around the eye is the eyewall, an area
where the strongest thunderstorms and winds spin around the storm's center. The fastest
possible continuing wind speed found in tropical cyclones is thought to be around 85 m/s
(165 kt, 190 mph, 305 km/h).

Related pages

Weather

Climate

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tropical cyclones.

1. "What is a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone?" . Atlantic Oceanographic &

Meteorological Laboratory. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

2. "From Hurricane to Typhoon: What Happens When Tropical Cyclones Cross the International
Date Line?" . The Weather Channel. Retrieved 23 October 2015.

3. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Research Division.

"Frequently Asked Questions: What are the upcoming tropical cyclone names?" .
NationalOAA. Retrieved 2006-12-11.

4. Ernst Behrendt, 'What Science is Discovering About Hurricanes', Popular Science Monthly,
Vol. 173, No. 3 (September 1958), p. 101

5. Wayne Neely, The Great Bahamian Hurricanes of 1899 and 1932 (Bloomington, IN:
iUniverse, Inc., 2012), p. 58

6. "Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names" . National Hurricane Center.
Retrieved 1 December 2015.

7. Chris Landsea (1998). "How does the damage that hurricanes cause increase as a function of
wind speed?" . Hurricane Research Division. Retrieved 2007-02-24.

8. James M. Shultz, Jill Russell and Zelde Espinel (2005). "Epidemiology of Tropical Cyclones:
The Dynamics of Disaster, Disease, and Development" . Oxford Journal. Retrieved 2007-02-
24.

9. Staff Writer (2005-08-30). "Hurricane Katrina Situation Report #11" (PDF). Office of
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) United States Department of Energy.
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Retrieved 2007-02-24.

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