Why the right side of a tropical cyclone is the most dangerous.
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The “dirty side” of a hurricane refers to the part of the storm that usually brings the highest impacts: the greatest winds, greatest tornado risk, and greatest storm surge and flooding. In the case of Atlantic hurricanes, which rotate counterclockwise, the “dirty side” is on the right — where the winds are moving in the same direction as the storm, combining their speeds. This is why the greatest risk of storm surge during a hurricane is at the center of the storm, in the “eyewall,” and to the right of it, where the forward-moving winds push water onto shore.
Because the center of the storm is the strongest, forecasters tend to focus on tracking it, using a popular tool called the “forecast cone,” which shows the potential path of the center of a storm, but leaves out the wider impact areas. So many viewers of hurricane forecasts don’t realize a storm’s impacts reach far beyond the cone, and in particular on the right-hand side of the storm.
Sources and further reading:
NOAA explanation of the “dirty side” of a tropical cyclone:
https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd-faq/#tc-rightside-winds
Why Hurricane Helene is a wake-up call, by Lavanya Ramanathan and Umair Irfan for Vox:
https://www.vox.com/natural-disaster/374366/hurricane-helene-florida-big-bend-beryl-storms-climate
Why the 'dirty side' of a hurricane can be 50% stronger than its 'clean side,' by Lucy Sherriff for BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240916-what-is-the-dirty-side-of-a-hurricane
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