Anticyclonic storm

An anticyclonic storm is a weather storm where winds around the storm flow contrary to the direction dictated by the Coriolis effect about a region of low pressure. In the northern hemisphere, anticyclonic storms involve clockwise wind flow; in the southern hemisphere, they involve counterclockwise wind flow.

Anticyclonic storms usually form around high-pressure systems. These do not "contradict" the Coriolis effect; it predicts such anticyclonic flow about high-pressure regions. Anticyclonic storms, as high-pressure systems, usually accompany cold weather and are frequently a factor in large snowstorms. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a well-known extraterrestrial example of an anticyclonic system.

Anticyclonic tornadoes often occur;[1] while tornadoes' vortices are low-pressure regions, this occurs because tornadoes occur on a small enough scale such that the Coriolis effect is negligible.

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Jack. The Weather Book. New York: Vintage Books, 1992. Pages 118,122.

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