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Why do cyclones rotate counterclockwise (i. e. to the left) while the Coriolis force causes objects to be deflected to the right?

First, we have to figure out how a cyclone works, step by step:

• The cyclone’s center is a low pressure area. 
• The air moves from a high pressure area to a low pressure area. 
• Starting to move to the cyclone’s center, the air starts to rotate to the right et voila: the system is rotated counterclockwise. 

See below:

Cyclone and anticyclone rotation. Illustration: Valerya Milovanova / Windy.app 

Let us remind you what the Coriolis force is. 

Any object moving on the Earth’s surface is deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left - in the Southern. That’s how the Coriolis force shows. 

Text: Windy.app team

Illustration: Valerya Milovanova, an illustrator with a degree from the British Higher School of Art an Design (BHSAD) of Universal University

Cover photo: Unsplash

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