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Letter: Wandering winds

Published 3 November 2010

From Simon Young

In the Instant Expert on extreme weather, Jeff Masters states that tropical cyclones get their spin from the disorganised air systems off the African coast, which then move eastward towards the Caribbean (2 October).

If that were true, these systems would have to cross the African continent before tracking across the Indian ocean, the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific – perhaps stopping off for a rest in Hawaii – before finally crossing the Yucatán peninsula and arriving in the Caribbean. Seems like the scenic route to me.

Horwich, Bolton, UK

Issue no. 2785 published 6 November 2010

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