Tropical Cyclones

• Tropical cyclones bring violent weather conditions and cause great destruction
• Tropical Cyclones often cause terrible damage in the coastal areas
• Huge waves created by the strong winds can drown coastal towns and the people in them
• Tropical cyclones occur in the Tropics over the ocean & they are found further 5 degrees.
• They take place in the Tropics and over the ocean, where the winds are stronger and more frequent.
• Movement

  • From east to west (westward)

  • They move away from the equator

  • They turn eastward at 30 degrees
• Destruction is caused by strong winds, very heavy rain & flooding
• Tropical cyclones move from east to west because it is carried by the Tropical Easterlies
• It dissipates because there’s no warm air, no moisture & because of friction
• The Coriolis effect causes tropical cyclones to rotate anticlockwise in the southern hemisphere & clockwise in the northern hemisphere
• A tropical cyclone can be formed when there is an area of low pressure with high humidity & warm water
• Warm moist air rises upwards into the atmosphere & cooler drier air moves in to replace it