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Typhoon StructureRelated Terms
15 in category
In Context
Strong, well-distributed outflow in multiple directions is a sign of a healthy storm, since it efficiently vents rising air and allows the typhoon to keep intensifying. Restricted outflow, often caused by wind shear, tends to choke off intensification.
Related Terms in Typhoon Structure
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Center of Circulation
The center of circulation is the precise point around which a typhoon's winds rotate, tracked by forecasters to plot the storm's position and path.
Central Dense Overcast (CDO)
The central dense overcast, or CDO, is the thick shield of high clouds covering a typhoon's core, visible on satellite imagery as a solid white mass.
Cloud Shield
The cloud shield is the broad canopy of high cirrus clouds that spreads outward from a typhoon's core, often visible on satellite well before the storm's center arrives.
Convective Bands
Convective bands are elongated clusters of thunderstorms within a typhoon's circulation, another term used for the same feature as rainbands.
Cyclonic Circulation
Cyclonic circulation refers to counterclockwise rotating wind flow around a low pressure center in the Northern Hemisphere, the defining motion of a tropical cyclone.
Eye
The eye is the calm, roughly circular center of a typhoon, typically 30 to 65 kilometers wide, where winds are light and skies can be clear.
Eyewall
The eyewall is the ring of towering thunderstorms immediately surrounding the eye, where a typhoon's strongest winds and heaviest rain occur.
Eyewall Replacement Cycle
An eyewall replacement cycle occurs when a second, outer ring of thunderstorms forms around an intense typhoon, gradually chokes off the original eyewall, and takes its place.
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This definition is part of the azifind.com Typhoon Wiki, informed by PAGASA and the World Bank/GFDRR catastrophe risk data used across our province pages. View all Typhoon Wiki terms →