Eye

Definition

The relatively calm central area of a mature tropical cyclone, where sinking air limits cloud formation.

Used by AQA and Edexcel

Specification 3.1.1.3 · Paper 1

The relatively calm centre of a mature tropical cyclone, where air sinks and conditions are often dry and cloud-free.
The eye is the relatively calm centre. Air sinks here, becoming drier, so the eye is often cloud-free with little rain and light winds. Despite these calmer conditions, pressure is lowest near the centre.
Revise: Tropical Storms: Formation, Structure and Climate Change

Specification 2.5 · Paper 1

1
Distinguish the calm eye from the eyewall, where the strongest winds and heaviest rain occur.
2
Keep pressure and wind speed distinct: the lowest surface pressure is in the eye, but the strongest winds are in the eyewall.
3
For a structure diagram, label the eye, eyewall and spiral rainbands, then add the associated weather and directions of air movement.

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In a mature cyclone, some air sinks in the centre, forming the relatively calm eye.

Paper 1

The central area of a well-developed tropical cyclone, with the lowest surface pressure, relatively light winds and little or no rainfall.
Low pressure alone does not tell us the wind speed at every point: the eye has the lowest surface pressure, but it does not have the strongest winds.
Revise: Physical Characteristics and Structure of Tropical Cyclones