I keep track of those who log on to www.globalweathersolutions.com with Traffic Facts supplied by www.godaddy.com, my hosting enterprise.  Along with statistics relating to numbers of people logging on are the words they use on their search engine to find my site. One of the people who logged on wrote, "Which direction does the wind blow during a hurricane?"

I logged on to the user's url and brought up a question and answer site with the respondent's answer, which is repeated below.  He or she stated they could determine the direction of a hurricane's eye from the way palm fronds pointed, that is since a hurricane's winds spiral inward toward its' eye (see image of a hurricane off the Florida peninsula above) the fronds point directly at the eye.  See image of palms blowing in a hurricane's winds above.  My answer to the question follows the respondent's entry.    

The winds spiral around the eye and  do move toward the center of the storm but at any one point in its' geometry those winds are at a right angle to the direction of the eye.  Therefore the eye can be found by facing the wind and measuring 90 degrees to the right.    

Log on to www.globalweathersolutions.com and look at the HURRICANE SURVIVAL GUIDE, which not only can find the eye, track the eye, without any help from electronics, TV or radio, and using detailed reports from the National Hurricane Center paint a picture of the storm on the HURRICANE FINDER CHART showing the direction and strength of the wind days before the arrival of the storm at any place within the geometry of the hurricane.  Your front door for instance.  This text book relates to everything hurricanes, history of latitude and longitude, finding distance and direction of the storm, and includes the unique HURRICANE FINDER CHART on which you can track the storm and place your location within its' geometry showing the effects of the strength and direction of its' winds.

The HURRICANE SURVIVAL GUIDE and its' accompanying
HURRICANE FINDER CHART may save your life and property when electronics fail.



                          RESPONDENT'S ENTRY

     

What direction does the wind blow during a hurricane? In: Hurricanes Typhoons and Cyclones [Edit categories]

[Edit]

Having observed the winds through hurricanes Francis and Jeanne, which hit about 60 miles North of me and Wilma, where the eye passed over my home and tropical storm Fay, I have learned that I can judge the relative position of the storm - at least the direction of it with respect to my location. My observations are that the prevailing winds blow towards the center of the storm. I watch which way the palm fronds are pointed and if the storm is close enough to see on weather radar, the palm fronds are always pointed towards the storm.

Note that I said the prevailing winds. Gusts can come from many directions.

                                 MY ANSWER

THE OBSERVATION ABOVE IS INCORRECT.

Winds in a hurricane, tropical storm, cyclone, any cyclonic storm in the northern hemisphere blow in a counterclockwise direction around the eye, the center of the storm. South of the equator they blow clockwise, all this due to the Coriolis Effect.

To find the eye of an approaching hurricane, when you are experiencing its winds, the eye will be 90 degrees to the right of the prevailing wind. See the HURRICANE SURVIVAL GUIDE on www.globalweathersolutions.com or Google John's Musings Bermuda Meet Bertha Four Days From Now. Using the HURRICANE FINDER CHART, included with the guide, you can track the eye of the storm and paint a picture of the storm at your front door days in advance using information from The National Hurricane Center.

I also experienced Fay on the Caloosahatchee Waterway on my boat NEREIS, and you can read about it on John's Musings. Just Google John's Musing, Dancing With Fay.

Thank you for your indulgence. 



                     That's that for this

                          Take care,

                               JB