🔍 Key Concepts

• Northern Hemisphere storm structure and the idea of a dangerous semicircle • Relationship between storm motion and cyclonic wind rotation • How wind speed and direction affect sea state and a vessel’s track

💭 Think About

• First picture the rotation of winds around a low-pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere. How does that rotation combine with the direction the storm is moving on its right-hand side? • Think about what happens to a vessel that is already in strong winds and seas on the right side of the storm. Would the combined wind + wave + storm track tend to move you toward or away from the storm’s center? • Ask yourself: if the wind is moving in roughly the same direction as the storm’s track, what does that usually do to effective wind speed and sea height in that semicircle?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify how cyclonic rotation in the Northern Hemisphere (counterclockwise) combines with the forward motion of the storm on the right side of its track • Check whether increased wind speed generally leads to higher seas, all else being equal • Confirm whether, in the dangerous semicircle, the resultant wind and seas tend to set a vessel into the storm’s path rather than away from it