Why is the NE quad always the strongest?

[Cape Verde]

I think the strongest winds are always found in the northeast quadrant of a hurricane.<P>Why is that?<P>I can easily understand why the storm surge is the worst there, but why would windspeed be higher there as well?<P>It can't be because the storm itself is moving northerly because I've observed this in storms moving nearly due west. The winds would be strongest in the NW quad if storm movement was the determining factor.<P>Just tryin' to learn here...

[shaner]

It's got to do with the rotation of the storm. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but it's sort of like a whip. The east and south sides gather energy and as they come around, it makes the NE side the strongest.

[magwitch]

the forward velocity of the storm itself adds to the perceived wind speed, as well as the most powerful low-level convergence.

[abajan]

As far as I know, it's always the right front quadrant that's strongest. So if the hurricane was moving towards the east, the SE quadrant would be where the strongest winds would be found.

Anyway, I'm sure a professional met will soon see the topic and give a fuller and more accurate explanation.

[Brent]

Actually...

In the rare event a hurricane were moving eastward, the strongest part would be the south side.

Which would be the right front quadrant.

[Cape Verde]

In the rare event a hurricane were moving eastward, the strongest part would be the south side..

<P>I'll have to check this out on storms moving west through the Caribbean. The NW side would be the strongest if overall storm motion is the sole factor.

[Guest]

I think the strongest winds are always found in the northeast quadrant of a hurricane.<P>Why is that?<P>

The strongest winds occur in the north-west section in the northern hemisphere because of two factors: the anti-clockwise movement of winds and the direction of the cyclone.

When the circulating winds and the entire cyclone are moving in the same direction the forward movement of the system increases the wind speed on the right handside.

Think of sitting in a car with the wind blowing at 10 mph. Stick one of those windmill toys though the window. It rotates at a certain speed. Now begin driving 5 miles per hour. What happens? The windmill rotation increase its speed. Now if the wind was blowing around your car in an anticlockwise fashion, then the "intake" point (for lack of a better term) will be the front right handside and that will be where where the wind will be strongest no matter which highway you are on going north, south, east, or west.

[senorpepr]

I think the strongest winds are always found in the northeast quadrant of a hurricane.<P>Why is that?<P>

The strongest winds occur in the north-west section in the northern hemisphere because of two factors: the anti-clockwise movement of winds and the direction of the cyclone.

When the circulating winds and the entire cyclone are moving in the same direction the forward movement of the system increases the wind speed on the right handside.

Think of sitting in a car with the wind blowing at 10 mph. Stick one of those windmill toys though the window. It rotates at a certain speed. Now begin driving 5 miles per hour. What happens? The windmill rotation increase its speed. Now if the wind was blowing around your car in an anticlockwise fashion, then the "intake" point (for lack of a better term) will be the front right handside and that will be where where the wind will be strongest no matter which highway you are on going north, south, east, or west.

The above is correct... however... "northwest" should read "right-front". It's the right-front quad in whatever direction the storm is moving.

[Banditt]

A tropical cyclone is a polar event. Regardless of the direction of movement
the axis of the eye will always be pointing north. The counter clock wise
rotation begins at the eye wall and finally ends in the NE quad. Thus the NE quad has the longest accumulation of wind and is the strongest point of the cane.

Tropical cyclones below the equator rotate in a clock wise motion.

[Cape Verde]

Just so I understand the wisdom on this thread, if a hurricane is stalled, not moving at all, the northeast quadrant would be no more likely to have the highest winds than any other quadrant?

[Guest]

Just so I understand the wisdom on this thread, if a hurricane is stalled, not moving at all, the northeast quadrant would be no more likely to have the highest winds than any other quadrant?

You got it.

[Banditt]

Just so I understand the wisdom on this thread, if a hurricane is stalled, not moving at all, the northeast quadrant would be no more likely to have the highest winds than any other quadrant?

No. The storm may stall in directional movement, but the counter clock wise rotation does not stop, until the storm is no longer a tropical system.

[magwitch]

i'm going to have to agree with the russian tyrant -- with no motion, there would be little bias to wind speed beyond an extremely minor one from the coriolis force.

[Guest]

Just so I understand the wisdom on this thread, if a hurricane is stalled, not moving at all, the northeast quadrant would be no more likely to have the highest winds than any other quadrant?

No. The storm may stall in directional movement, but the counter clock wise rotation does not stop, until the storm is no longer a tropical system.

Bandit ... the counterclockwise winds indeed do not stop. BUT as long as the system is stationary the winds in the northeast quadrant are not necessarily stronger than else where in the system.

[HURAKAN]

In the rare event a hurricane were moving eastward, the strongest part would be the south side..

<P>I'll have to check this out on storms moving west through the Caribbean. The NW side would be the strongest if overall storm motion is the sole factor.

Lenny, 1999, is a good example.

[ChaserUK]

that question brings into the account the motion of the storm. Winds will always be stronger on the NE side of the storm if its moving N/NE. The storm is moving in that direction PLUS the E side of the storm is moving forward: in affect the forward motion of the storm is added to current wind speeds.

[soonertwister]

If Dennis comes ashore at 135 mph, the winds at 90 degrees to the right will be, at the current forward speed of 18 mph, 135 + 18 = 153 mph, and gusts will be stronger. 90 degrees to the left of the direction of the storm the winds will be 135 - 18 = 117. Again, gusts will be higher than that.

The force potential of 153 mph winds compared to 117 mph winds is calculated as the square of the difference in wind speeds, so 153 vs 117 means that the wind is more than 70% more powerful.

Hope that explanation helps.