Are hurricanes influenced by the Coriolis Effect?
The Coriolis force turns winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, yet winds go counterclockwise in hurricane. This happens because Coriolis is only one of the forces acting on air to cause winds and with hurricanes, it isn’t the strongest force. While the Coriolis force is pushing the wind toward the right, the pressure-gradient force (caused by air pressure differences) is pushing the air toward the center of the area of low pressure. See diagram http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadFA… The Coriolis Effect “is responsible for one of the most destructive forces of nature – the hurricane. It forces a counterclockwise rotation for all storms in the Northern Hemisphere. http://physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/… How & Where Hurricanes Form
