Cyclone Hamish Cat 5

[mikemacdonald]

my daughters are experiencing a major cyclone at Airlie, Queensland.
I should know this, whats the difference between a trop.storm, cyclone,tornado and hurricane. Could be useful soon. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Salty John]

A cyclone, hurricane and typhoon are all names for the same thing - a tropical revolving storm.
A tornado is a different thing - a very intense revolving storm of much, much smaller area. A tornado creates damage in a swathe only a few hundred feet wide, whereas a cyclone is many miles in diameter. When tornados appear over water they are called water spouts.

 

[mikemacdonald]

Am I right in thinking direction of rotation is different in Northern to Southern hemisphere?

 

[nimbusgb]

Clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the northern.

In the Southern hemisphere use left hand rules ( 'cos southern hemisphere people are, well, odd ) in the north use right hand rule.

left hand rule - do a left handed 'thumbs up' - thumb up = low pressure or rising air, rotation round the core follows the fingers ie clockwise. In the northern hemisphere - right handed 'thumbs up' = low pressure air follows the fingers ie counterclockwise. A high pressure = thumbs down = fingers show rotations are reversed.

Now all you have to remember is northern = right and southern = left

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[snowleopard]

More info here

Anyone doing an out-of-season charter down there?

 

[jamesjermain]

I've been holding an email conversation with one of the bosses of Queensland Yacht Charters. They shut up shop on Saturday (their time) and headed for the hills. I'm waiting to hear from them how much damage they've suffered. Looking at the local weather sites it seems the worst may have passed them. The storm has now been downgraded to Cat 3 and looks likely to come ashore to the south of the Whitsunday Islands tomorow or Tuesday