Into the Eye: The Cyclone Structure Quiz

If a cyclone is a spinning system of clouds, and if centrifugal force prevents winds from reaching the absolute center, then a calm area called the "eye" is created.

If the air rises most rapidly just outside the center, and if rapid rising air creates intense weather, then the eyewall must contain the storm's most violent conditions.

If clouds require rising air to form, and if the eye is clear and calm, then the air must be sinking rather than rising in that specific spot.

If the Earth rotates to the east, and if the Coriolis effect deflects moving air to the right in the North, then the inward-rushing air will create a counter-clockwise spiral.

If a cyclone is defined as a "low-pressure system," and if air rushes toward the center because it is being pulled from high to low areas, then the center must have lower pressure.

If a cyclone requires energy to lift air, and if water vapor releases heat when it condenses into clouds, then warm ocean air is the necessary energy source.

If the storm is rotating while air is being pulled toward the center, then the clouds will naturally arrange themselves into a spiral pattern.

If we map the physical parts of a cyclone, and if it contains a center, a surrounding ring, and outer bands, then the eye, eyewall, and rainbands are the correct components.

If the Coriolis effect deflects air to the left in the South, and if that air is moving toward a center point, then the resulting rotation must be clockwise.

If the clouds in a cyclone are organized into elongated, curved lines that spiral inward, then they resemble "bands" or strips of weather.

If the Earth is spinning, and if that spin deflects the path of the wind, then that physical phenomenon is known as the Coriolis effect.

If the pressure gradient (the "slope" of air pressure) gets steeper as you get closer to the center, then the wind must move faster to keep up with that change.

If the eye is a region of sinking air, and if sinking air prevents cloud formation, then the eye will be mostly clear or have only thin clouds.

If the eyewall is the zone of maximum energy release, then it must contain the highest wind speeds, heaviest rain, and most intense thunderstorm activity.

If a cyclone pulls in moist air from the surrounding environment, and if that air forms into curved lines of thunderstorms, then those structures are identified as rainbands.

If the "eye" is the calm middle and the rest of the storm is active, then the ring of clouds immediately surrounding that calm middle is called the eyewall.

If a storm's rotation becomes more intense, and if the "pull" outward from the center increases, then the eye usually becomes more distinct and smaller.

If air is constantly rushing into the bottom and rising up the eyewall, then that air must have somewhere to go once it reaches the top, meaning it must flow outward.

If cyclones form in the troposphere (the lowest layer of the atmosphere), and if the troposphere ends around 10-15km, then the storm clouds will reach up to that height.

If warm water is the fuel for the cyclone's engine, and if land replaces that water, then the engine can no longer run and the structure collapses.