Eyewall of a Hurricane
What is the "eye" of a hurricane?
What is the "eyewall?"
How do they form?
The artistic illustration at the top of this page, from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration),
helps us to study an eyewall. NOAA also explains this graphic. Here are some of the highlights:
The "eye" is a roughly circular area of comparatively light winds and fair weather found at the
center of a severe tropical cyclone. Although the winds are calm at the axis of rotation, strong
winds may extend well into the eye. There is little or no precipitation and sometimes blue sky or
stars can be seen.
The eye is surrounded by the "eyewall", the roughly circular ring of deep convection which is the
area of highest surface winds in the tropical cyclone. The eye is composed of air that is slowly
sinking and the eyewall has a net upward flow as a result of many moderate - occasionally strong updrafts and downdrafts.
Scientists aren't exactly sure how these phenomenon occur. One thing about which they're fairly certain is
that "eyewall convection" is involved:
Convection in tropical cyclones is organized into long, narrow rainbands which are oriented in the
same direction as the horizontal wind. Because these bands seem to spiral into the center of a
tropical cyclone, they are sometimes called "spiral bands". Along these bands, low-level
convergence is a maximum, and therefore, upper-level divergence is most pronounced above.
If you want to know more about the technical details, NOAA's analysis is helpful.
Credits:
Graphic image online, courtesy NOAA. PD
Eye image: A NOAA crew member took the above-depicted photo of Hurricane Katrina's eye during August of
2005.
Eyewall image: A crew member aboard NOAA’s P-3 hurricane hunter turboprop airplane took this view of
Hurricane Katrina’s eye wall on August 28, 2005. The view may appear serene, but this is the eye wall of a
tremendously destructive and powerful Category 5 storm.
See Alignments to State and Common Core standards for this story online at:
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/AcademicAlignment/Eyewall-of-a-Hurricane0
See Learning Tasks for this story online at:
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/AcademicActivities/Eyewall-of-a-Hurricane0
Media Stream
Katrina Eyewall
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Katrina Eye
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Eyewall of a Hurricane
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