A Wonderleaf question
Why do hurricanes spin?
a real page from the book
Hurricanes spin because warm ocean air rises, more air rushes in to replace it, and Earth's rotation bends that moving air sideways. That bend, called the Coriolis effect, turns a straight rush toward low pressure into a spiral around the storm's center.
The direction depends on where the storm forms: most Atlantic hurricanes turn counterclockwise, while southern storms turn the other way. The strangest part is the eye, where skies can briefly clear even while the strongest winds circle close by.
Wonder words
- pressure
- coriolis
- hemisphere
- spiral
Try it out
Stir water in a bowl, then drop in a few crumbs and watch how they curve around the moving center.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- Why do mountains change the weather?
- Why is frost sparkly?
- Why is the sky sometimes gray?
- Why do clouds change shape?
- How do meteorologists predict the weather?
- Why does the air smell different after rain?
One more wonder: Why is space so dark?
And the next question?
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