En meteorología, ciclón usualmente suele aludir a vientos intensos acompañados de tormenta, aunque también designa a las áreas del planeta en las cuales la presión atmosférica es baja. En esta segunda acepción el significado de ciclón es equivalente al de borrasca, y es el fenómeno opuesto al anticiclón. Los ciclones y anticiclones tienen una importancia fundamental en la generación de los vientos o corrientes atmosféricas. En efecto, un área de bajas presiones genera vientos al atraer las masas de aire atmosférico desde las zonas de altas presiones o anticiclónicas.

Leer el artículo completo en Wikipedia · CC-BY-SA

In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure. They are usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. All large-scale cyclones are centered on low-pressure areas. The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale (synoptic scale). According to the National Hurricane Center glossary, warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale.Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within the smaller mesoscale. Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars and Neptune.Cyclogenesis describes the process of cyclone formation and intensification. Extratropical cyclones begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones. These zones contract to form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in their life cycle, extratropical cyclones occlude as the cold air mass undercuts the warmer air and become cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of the subtropical jet stream. Weather fronts separate two masses of air of different densities and are associated with the most prominent meteorological phenomena. Air masses separated by a front may differ in temperature or humidity. Strong cold fronts typically feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather, and may on occasion be preceded by squall lines or dry lines. They form west of the circulation center and generally move from west to east. Warm fronts form east of the cyclone center and are usually preceded by stratiform precipitation and fog. They move poleward ahead of the cyclone path. Occluded fronts form late in the cyclone life cycle near the center of the cyclone and often wrap around the storm center. Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of development of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm core. Cyclones can transition between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases. Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation. Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear. In the Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific oceans, a tropical cyclone is generally referred to as a hurricane (from the name of the ancient Central American deity of wind, Huracan), in the Indian and south Pacific oceans it is called a cyclone, and in the northwestern Pacific it is called a typhoon.

Leer el artículo completo en Wikipedia · CC-BY-SA