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Why do hurricanes spin?

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Why do hurricanes spin?

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Anna Jarner
Anna Jarner
Spain

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Why do hurricanes spin?
 

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Why do hurricanes spin?Online version

Read the text and complete it with the words given

by Anna Jarner
1

24 counterclockwise fuel Coriolis spinning Hemispheres equator east United poles

Earth is a spinning planet , and its rotation affects climate , weather , and the ocean through the Effect .

Named after the French mathematician Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis ( born in 1792 ) , the Coriolis Effect refers to the curved path that objects moving on Earth ? s surface appear to follow because of the of the planet .

As Earth turns , points near the , countries like Ecuador and Kenya , are moving much faster than places near the planet ? s . This is because Earth is shaped like a marble : Its circumference is larger near its middle ( the equator ) than near its top and bottom . All places on Earth experience a day that is about hours long , but points near the equator have to travel longer distances in the same period of time , which means that those places move faster . Scientists say these points have more " angular momentum . " This is why rockets are usually launched from places near the equator , like Cape Canaveral , Florida , States . Such locations give rockets a large initial speed , which helps them get into orbit using the least possible amount of .

The Coriolis Effect influences wind patterns , which in turn dictate how ocean currents move . Imagine wind near the equator flowing to the north . That wind starts with a certain speed due to Earth ? s rotation ( near the equator , Earth rotates at a speed of roughly 1 , 600 kilometers per hour ( 1 , 000 miles per hour ) from west to east ) . As the wind travels north toward the North Pole , it moves over parts of Earth that are rotating progressively more slowly . Since the wind retains its angular momentum , it keeps moving from west to east , overtaking the part of Earth turning more slowly below it . As a result , the wind appears to bend to the east ( that is , to the right ) . This is the Coriolis Effect in action . Wind flowing south from the equator would likewise bend to the .

This effect is responsible for many meteorological and oceanographic phenomena . For instance , due to the Coriolis Effect , hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere spin in a direction , while hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere ( known as cyclones ) spin in a clockwise direction . Ocean - circling currents known as " gyres " also spin in spiral patterns thanks to the Coriolis Effect .

There is an urban legend that water in toilets spins in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern because of the Coriolis Effect . But that isn't true ? a toilet bowl is too small for the effect to be observed . Instead , other factors like the shape of the toilet bowl and the direction that the water enters are largely responsible for how the flushing water moves .

Author
National Geographic Societ y

 
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