Embedded Files
The broad comma-shaped cloud pattern represents a low pressure system, or cyclone, over North America. Another circulation center is visible far offshore over the Atlantic.
Meteorologists use the term "cyclone" to refer to any low pressure center with a counterclockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. It usually doesn't refer to a tropical storm (unless it's a "tropical cyclone") or tornado.
If a clear circulation center is visible, the low will tend to be to the north or northwest of it. This is because most of the clouds you see are in the middle and upper troposphere, and because the storm system is moving. Identifying the exact location of the low center is an essential skill for weather map analysis, but isn't particularly essential for day-to-day weather forecasting over land where there are plenty of surface observations. You'll learn how to do it in a few years, but for now, being able to see that there's a cyclone center somewhere in southern Canada is good enough.
Report abuse