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Phil Lewis Jr,  of Brodnax Va..

What is a cyclone?

Cyclone is coined from a Greek word for circle. A cyclone is a storm in which the winds blow toward the center in a round. spiral motion. Such storms occur in various sizes. The largest ones blow in latitudes far north and south of the tropics. The cyclone winds south of the equator spiral in the same direction as the hands on the face of a clock. North of the equator they blow in the opposites. or counter clockwise direction

Usually the bigger the cyclone  the less fuss it makes. And some of them are really big. During the winter they blow across America from the Aleutians and Western Canada. They tend to follow each other in set paths from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Some are 2000 miles wide. Such a cyclone can travel clear around the globe.

When the weatherman mentions an area of low‑pressure he often means a big cyclone. If he says the low is moving in our direction  we are in its path. If the south or eastern section strikes us winds are likely to come from the south. Weather mar be warm. The north western section tends to bring easterly winds and colder weather. The whole storm ambles along between 20 and 30 miles an hour. It is likely to bring clouds and rain.  These monster cyclones play a star role in our weather news. Often they are followed by anticyclones„ These are areas of high‑pressure. The winds spiral outward in the opposite direction from cyclone winds. Anti­cyclones tend to bring cloudless skies and calm spells.

The howling hurricane is a smaller type of cyclone  It is called a tropical cyclone because it is hatched over tropical seas. Unlike the big cyclones it tends to move towards the west. A hurricane is no more than a few hundred miles wide. but what it lacks in size it makes up for in fury.

Like the big cyclones. the heart of the hurricane is a low‑pressure area. This is the warm. rising air that produces the calm eye in the center of the raging storm. Also. like the big cyclones the spiral winds move clockwise south of the equator and counterclockwise north of the equator. However  they rush in with far more fury and force.

The smallest cyclone is the fiercest of all storms. It is the tornados or twisters that rips across our southwest. The central area of low pressure in a twister is almost a vacuums It dips in a funnel shape from a cloud to the ground. The almost vacuum draws in dust and debris and becomes a dark funnel. The spiraling winds rush in at unbelievable speeds. Heavy cars and blocks of masonry are tossed like leaves. The area of low pressure can cause a building to burst open. Where the twister strikes the ground. it leaves a path of total destruction in its path.

We can correctly call all these weather events cyclones because they follow the same pattern„ Usually the big cyclone that ambles over the continent is called a low‑pressure area. The smaller one is called a hurricane! a typhoon or a tropical. cyclone. The cyclone baby brat is. of course, called a tornado or a twister.

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