Cyclone

An area of low pressure in the atmosphere, endowed with a rotating motion, characterized by the presence of abundant cloudiness, wind, and intense precipitation. Pressure decreases from outside toward the center, reaching its minimum value in the central part. The term was coined by the Anglo-Indian scientist and sailor Henry Piddington (1797-1858). He first referred to it in 1840, to name a pair of devastating tropical cyclones that occurred in the waters of the Indian Ocean in his time. The word derives from the Greek term kyklón, which we translate as to whirl or to spin, and which in this case refers to the rotating nature of the low-pressure system. Although "cyclone" is a generic term, valid for anywhere on Earth, this name is given to the tropical cyclone that forms in the Indian Ocean basin and in the western part of the South Pacific.