The term "cyclone" refers to the storms' cyclonic nature,

with counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere

and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere.

A backing wind

-is a wind that turns counter-clockwise with height.

A veering wind

-is a wind that turns clockwise with height.

In the NH, conditions on the right-hand side of storms (called the "dangerous" side
or semicircle) are more severe than those on their left-hand sides (called the
"navigable' semicircle). In the SH, the situation is reversed. There are several
reasons that lead to these conditions, having to do with the wind speed, its direction
relative to the storm's path, and to the sea state produced. In this note we take a
brief look at these factors.

In the NH, storm winds circulate counterclockwise around the center of a Low. Thus,
when facing in the same direction the storm is moving, the left side has same
direction the storm is moving, the left side has wind blowing aft, the right side has
wind blowing forward (See G180). If the storm were stationary, the wind speed on
either side would be about the same if we sailed into it. When it starts to move,
however, this is no longer the case. Consider for the moment, not a circulating
storm, but just a cylinder of still air, the size of the storm. Then imagine this cylinder
of air moving east at a speed of 20 knots. If this moving air passed over us, we
would feel a west wind of 20 knots as it passed, regardless of what side of the
cylinder we were on when it crossed. A 20-knot westerly, after all, is just air moving
east at 20 knots.

Now consider that this cylinder of air is a revolving storm with winds circulating at
30 knots an easterly north of with winds circulating at 30 knots an easterly
north of the Low and a westerly south of the Low. While the storm remained
stationary, there would be a 30-knot easterly north of the Low center, with a 30-
knot westerly south of the center. When the storm starts to move at say, 20 knots,
however, its own motion adds to the surface winds it carries with it. South of the
Low, we get 30 +20. or 50 knots of westerly, whereas north of the Low we get 20
knots of westerly +30 knots of easterly, which leaves a 10-knot easterly.

In other words, in the NH, a storm's motion adds wind to the right side (called the
dangerous semicircle) and reduces the wind on the left side (called the navigable
semicircle)the vector addition of winds, however, is never quite so complete as
indicated in this example. The flow pattern of the wind is more complex and under
other influences.

other influences. Another independent factor contributes to the strength of the wind
on the right side. Tropical storms tend to move westward through the northern
Tropics, which leaves the subtropical Highs on their right hand side. As the storms
approach the isobar pattern around the Highs, their own isobars are compressed
giving rise to stronger winds on the side closest to the High (see G184). This type of
isobar compression is exactly what takes place in the case of a "lee trough" packed
up against a stationary High. The same factor contributes to enhanced wind on the
right of extratropica! Lows, since these move eastward over the tops of the Highs.
See ART-25 for more on the motion of tropical storms.In the SH, winds circulate
clockwise around Lows, so it is the left side that is the dangerous side due to the
added wind of the storm's motion and also due to the compression caused by
subtropical Highs.The name "dangerous side," however, has as much or more to
due with the direction of the wind as it does with its speed. When a storm
approaches so as to leave you on its dangerous side, its increasing winds tend to
push you into the path of the storm (north or south of the equator), whereas on the
navigable side the building wind pushes you away from the path of a storm (see
G103). Keeping in mind that tropical storms and hurricanes are often relatively small
in size (see ART-25), this wind direction can be the dominant factor in your overall
experience of the event. Recall that just some 80 to 100 miles from a typical
hurricane center, storm winds could be down to 40 knots or so. Sailing against the
wind in big seas on the dangerous side can mean no progress at all, versus
accelerated progress away from it on the navigable side.The eye is so calm because
the now strong surface winds that converge towards the center never reach it. The coriolis force
deflects the wind slightly away from the center, causing the wind to rotate around the center of
the hurricane (the eye wall), leaving the exact center (the eye) calm.

Still another factor is tied to typical paths of the storms themselves. They move generally westward
(NH and SH) and then tend to curve poleward rarely do they move toward the equator once
formed. Hence the dangerous side is also the side the storm is likely to turn toward as it progresses.
It is difficult to stress a tactical aspect of this issue, however, because, first, the motions are erratic
and second it could wrongly imply some virtue in have a larger fetch. Waves built by tropical storms
and hurricanes reach phenomenal heights, so any maneuver to avoid the worst of them by
maneuvering to stay on the navigable side is crucial to the best handling of the situation.

How we might be able to take any of this knowledge into account in negotiating specific situations,
however, is another matter. This clearly depends on where we are relative to the storm, how big it is,
and most important how fast we can move in the prevailing wind and seas. More discussion is
presented in RES-6 on storm avoidance.
here are six main requirements for typhoon formation and development: sufficiently warm sea
surface temperatures, atmospheric instability, high humidity in the lower to middle levels of the
troposphere, enough Coriolis force to develop a low pressure center, a pre-existing low level focus
or disturbance, and low vertical wind shear.