CYCLOSTROPHIC WIND

wind circulation that results from a balance between atmospheric pressure gradients and the centripetal force, called the Coriolis force, which arises by virtue of the rotation of the Earth upon its axis and is of considerable importance in large cyclonic systems but of negligible import for small-scale systems. In small-scale cyclonic systems, such as tornadoes, dust devils, waterspouts, and the central regions of hurricanes, the radius of curvature of the airflow is relatively small. Cyclostrophic wind flow in these small systems may exist only around cyclonic, or low pressure, regions; and the sense of rotation may be either clockwise or counterclockwise, a condition in contrast to larger scale cyclonic systems, which always rotate in a counterclockwise manner in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.