How It Works

HURRICANES WOULD BE A THING OF THE PAST

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Every year, hurricanes, formed over the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific; typhoons, formed over the Northwest Pacific, and cyclones, formed over the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, cause unpreceden­ted damage. In 2017 Hurricane Harvey alone caused $125 billion (£90 billion) worth of damage in the US.

The devastatin­g rotating nature of these tropical storms stems from Earth’s Coriolis force, which causes those in the Northern Hemisphere to rotate clockwise and those in the Southern Hemisphere to rotate counterclo­ckwise. However, on a stationary, flat Earth, no Coriolis force would be generated. No Coriolis means no hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones. This is also why we don’t see these storms between five degrees north and south of the equator, as the Coriolis magnitude is zero at the equator.

 ?? ?? Hurricane Florence photograph­ed from the ISS
Hurricane Florence photograph­ed from the ISS

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