Carolyn asks: "What is it like in the eye of a hurricane? Is it
as it appears on the radar: clear and calm?" and Michelle asks:
"Why is the eye of the hurricane so much calmer than the
surrounding wind/storm?" Let's start with the basics about the
eye of a hurricane. The eye is the low pressure center of a
tropical cyclone. A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone. In
the eye, winds are normally calm and sometimes the sky clears.
An example of this can be seen in a Youtube video from a NOAA
P-3 aircraft flying in the eye of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The
video shows the sky is blue and there's a "stadium effect"
because it feels like you're on a field looking up in the stand.
When you get to the eye, you have to first go through the "eye
wall." It's the ring of thunderstorms that surround the eye. The
heaviest rain, strongest winds and worst turbulence are normally
in the eye wall. Now, to the second question: Why is the eye of
the hurricane calm? You have to look at the way air flows into
and around a hurri