Eye (cyclone) facts for kids

Image of the eye of Hurricane Wilma.

The eye is an area of calm weather in the center of strong tropical cyclones. The cyclone's lowest barometric pressure occurs in the eye. It is usually circular and range between 30 and 65 km (20 to 40 mi) in diameter, though smaller and larger eyes can occur.

In case of a cyclone it is the place where all the winds coming inside in a spiral motion converge. In an anticyclone it is the part from where all winds move out from.

The region surrounding the eye is the eyewall, where the worst weather is seen in a cyclone. These have strong winds, lots of rain and lots of cloud. There are also outer bands, which surround the cyclone, which forms the greatest part of the storm. These have winds so strong they can even form other tornadoes.

Images for kids

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  An image of Hurricane Florence as seen from the International Space Station showing a well-defined eye at the center of the storm.

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  Hurricane Wilma with a pinhole eye

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  The eye of Hurricane Katrina viewed from a hurricane hunter aircraft

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  Typically, eyes are easy to spot using weather radar. This radar image of Hurricane Andrew clearly shows the eye over southern Florida.

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  A satellite photo of Cyclone Emnati of the 2021–22 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season exhibiting an outer and inner eyewall, while undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle

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  Mesovortices visible in the eye of Hurricane Emilia in 1994.

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  View of Typhoon Maysak's eye from the International Space Station on March 31, 2015, displaying a pronounced stadium effect.

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  The North American blizzard of 2006, an extratropical storm, showed an eye-like structure at its peak intensity (here seen just to the east of the Delmarva Peninsula).

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  A hurricane-like storm on the south pole of Saturn displaying an eyewall tens of kilometers high

See also

In Spanish: Ojo (ciclón) para niños