eye of the hurricane

A generally circular area, wholly or partly free of clouds, located at the centre of a tropical cyclone, being one of its main identifying features. Although the expression explicitly refers to the hurricane, in reality this eye is a characteristic feature of any tropical cyclone, whether called a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone. It is an area where the weather is calm and winds are of little significance (speeds below 15-20 km/h), in sharp contrast to those blowing in the walls surrounding the eye. This gap in the dense clouds of the tropical cyclone is a consequence of the downward air motions that occur right in its central part, which favours the dissipation of cloudiness. The typical diameter of the eye is around 40 km, although it varies in each case, with a wide range of sizes running from barely 8 km (the so-called 'pinhole eyes') up to 80-100 km, although, exceptionally, they can be considerably larger. Although the shape of the eye is roughly circular, high-resolution images from the latest generation of satellites are revealing the complex dynamics they undergo, continuously varying in shape and size. There are times when they take on an elliptical shape, even degenerating into an amorphous structure or temporarily disappearing altogether. The expression 'being in the eye of the hurricane' is widely used, conveying the idea of being at the centre of a controversy or conflictive situation. The appearance of the eye of the hurricane is key to the maintenance and deepening of tropical cyclones over the warm waters of the oceans and seas of the intertropical zone. The subsiding warm air feeds back into the convection that gives rise to the towering cloud masses that make up the cyclonic structure itself.