Talk:Coriolis force
Cyclone direction.
The Coriolis force moves everything (thrown baseballs, bullet, airplanes, air) the the right in the Northern hemisphere. Work it out, using the cross products and such.
So why do hurricanes go counterclockwise? It's a fascinating and subtle effect. First, note that airflow out from a high-pressure area goes clockwise, that is, to the right, as one would expect. It's only the airflow into a low-pressure area that is counterintuitive. And that, of course, includes hurricanes.
The reason for this effect is not easy to describe in words. I don't have a good verbal description that I could give. That's why I'm giving it to you as a homework assignment. :-) The right visual aids describe it nicely, though I don't have any, and don't have upload rights in any case. The best and most straightforward explanation that I've seen is, believe it or not, in the old 1958 AT&T / Bell Telephone science-for-children movie with the unlikely title Unchained Goddess. If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend it.