In fact, tropical cyclones — the general name for the storms called typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones in different parts of the world — always spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and spin in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere.
One more query we ran across in our research was “Do typhoons spin clockwise?”.
This is what we ran into. but it also has to do with physics. In fact, tropical cyclones — the general name for the storms called typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones in different parts of the world — always spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and spin in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere.
Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are all rotating storms spawned in the tropics. Because of the Coriolis effect, these storms rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
Those that appear in the Western Pacific are called Typhoons. Their direction of rotation is due to the Coriolis Effect. Those in the Northern Hemisphere rotate anti-clockwise, whereas those in the Southern Hemispere rotate clockwise. Coriolis forces, as well as centrifugal forces, are known as fictitious forces.
Do Hurricanes spin clockwise or counterclockwise?
Similarly, the hurricanes in the Southern hemisphere spin in the clockwise direction as the air gets pushed towards the left. You can check out the visual representation of the entire process in this video released by NOVA PBS Official.
Why do hurricanes have different spin directions than typhoons?
The reason for this difference is the earth’s rotation, which gives rise to what is known as the Coriolis acceleration, balanced by the low pressure at the center of the hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone. In fact, this spin direction of hurricanes is known as “cyclonic“.
Do Hurricanes rotate clockwise or counterclockwise?
So it’s more accurate to say that all hurricanes rotate counterclockwise and all cyclones rotate clockwise! Fun Fact: Hurricanes/cyclones have one more name in the eastern hemisphere— typhoons. Typhoons rotate clockwise and counterclockwise depending on whether they were formed in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.
You may be wondering “Why does a hurricane spin?”
Some have found that anyone who has ever looked at an image of a hurricane knows it spins. Part of this is due to the center of low pressure — the “eye” — at the center of the storm. But it also has to do with physics.
The next thing we wanted the answer to was: why do hurricanes travel clockwise in the northern hemisphere?
The answer is as Earth travels from West to East, air moving from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere gets pushed to the right, causing hurricanes originating in the Northern hemisphere to spin in the counter-clockwise direction. Something similar happens in case of the southern hemisphere.
Do tornadoes always rotate counterclockwise?
It’s true that tornadoes tend to revolve counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. However, according to research meteorologist Richard Rotunno of the U. S. National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo, the opposite has also occurred.