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DGCA Aviation Meteorology · 15 questions

Tropical Cyclones: DGCA Aviation Meteorology Questions and Answers

15 practice questions on Tropical Cyclones with answers and explanations, plus the key concepts and formulas, from the TrueHeading question bank.

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About this topic

Use this page to revise Tropical Cyclones for the DGCA Aviation Meteorology paper. Below are the key ideas first, then 12 practice questions with answers and explanations, picked from the 15 questions in the TrueHeading bank for this topic.

In short: Sea surface temperature at least about 26.5 °C, latitude beyond about 5°, high humidity and low wind shear.

Open the full set in the student zone to answer every question, track your accuracy and take timed mock tests.

Key concepts: Tropical Cyclones

5 ideas to know cold.

What does a tropical cyclone need?

Sea surface temperature at least about 26.5 °C, latitude beyond about 5°, high humidity and low wind shear.

  • Intense low with an eye of light wind and clear sky
  • Eyewall: the strongest winds and heaviest rain
  • Anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere
EYEEyewall: strongest wind, heavy rainEye: light wind, clear, lowest pressureneeds sea surface ≥ ~26.5 °C and latitude > ~5°anticlockwise in the N hemisphere

Names of tropical cyclones?

The name depends on the ocean:

  • Atlantic and north-east Pacific: hurricane
  • North-west Pacific: typhoon
  • Indian Ocean and South Pacific: cyclone

How does IMD classify cyclones by wind?

By maximum sustained wind (North Indian Ocean):

  • Depression 17–27 kt
  • Deep depression 28–33 kt
  • Cyclonic storm 34–47 kt
  • Severe cyclonic storm 48–63 kt
  • Very severe 64–89 kt · Extremely severe 90–119 kt · Super cyclonic 120 kt or more

The dangerous semicircle?

In the northern hemisphere it is the right-hand semicircle relative to the storm’s motion, where the wind adds to the storm’s forward speed.

How do tropical cyclones form and move?

Over warm sea (≥ 26.5 °C), at least 5° from the equator, with low wind shear and a pre-existing disturbance.

  • Winds ≥ 64 kt for a hurricane/cyclone/typhoon
  • Eye with calm and clear sky, eyewall is the most violent
  • Moves westward with the trade winds, then recurves poleward
  • In India: the season is April–June and October–December

Practice questions: Tropical Cyclones

Tap “Show answer” after you have tried each one.

Q1A tropical cyclone is classified as a cyclonic storm in the North Indian Ocean when the maximum sustained wind is:

  1. 48–63 kt
  2. 64–119 kt
  3. 17–27 kt
  4. 34–47 kt
Show answer

Answer: D. 34–47 kt

IMD: depression 17–27 kt, deep depression 28–33 kt, cyclonic storm 34–47 kt, severe cyclonic storm 48–63 kt.

Q2Sea surface temperature needed for tropical cyclone formation is at least about:

  1. 26–27 °C
  2. 10 °C
  3. 20 °C
  4. 15 °C
Show answer

Answer: A. 26–27 °C

Warm water supplies latent heat energy.

Q3Tropical cyclones form:

  1. over land
  2. only at the poles
  3. on the equator
  4. at least about 5° from the equator, where the Coriolis force is sufficient
Show answer

Answer: D. at least about 5° from the equator, where the Coriolis force is sufficient

Without Coriolis force the air cannot rotate around the low.

Q4The eye of a tropical cyclone is characterised by:

  1. light winds, clear skies and subsiding air
  2. the strongest winds
  3. a cold core
  4. heavy rain
Show answer

Answer: A. light winds, clear skies and subsiding air

The eyewall has the strongest winds and heaviest rain.

Q5In the northern hemisphere, the most dangerous semicircle of a tropical cyclone (for a ship or aircraft) is:

  1. the right-hand semicircle relative to the direction of movement
  2. the rear
  3. the left-hand semicircle
  4. the front only
Show answer

Answer: A. the right-hand semicircle relative to the direction of movement

The storm's motion adds to wind speed on the right-hand side in the NH.

Q6In India, the cyclone seasons are mainly:

  1. July–September
  2. January–March
  3. pre-monsoon (April–June) and post-monsoon (October–December)
  4. all year equally
Show answer

Answer: C. pre-monsoon (April–June) and post-monsoon (October–December)

Most intense cyclones in the Bay of Bengal occur in May and in October–November.

Q7Tropical cyclones weaken after landfall because:

  1. the Coriolis force disappears
  2. they gain more moisture
  3. they lose the supply of warm moist air from the ocean and friction increases
  4. land is warmer than the sea
Show answer

Answer: C. they lose the supply of warm moist air from the ocean and friction increases

Energy supply ends and surface friction fills the low.

Q8Another name for a tropical cyclone in the western Pacific is:

  1. willy-willy only
  2. hurricane
  3. typhoon
  4. monsoon depression
Show answer

Answer: C. typhoon

In the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, hurricane.

Q9Winds in a tropical cyclone around the centre in the northern hemisphere circulate:

  1. clockwise
  2. anticlockwise
  3. radially only
  4. in a straight line
Show answer

Answer: B. anticlockwise

Clockwise in the southern hemisphere.

Q10The storm surge accompanying a tropical cyclone is:

  1. a rise in sea level due to wind stress and low pressure
  2. a seismic wave
  3. a tsunami
  4. a river flood only
Show answer

Answer: A. a rise in sea level due to wind stress and low pressure

It is the major cause of coastal damage.

Q11A tropical cyclone does not normally develop over:

  1. the Arabian Sea
  2. the Pacific
  3. the Bay of Bengal
  4. cold seas or near the equator
Show answer

Answer: D. cold seas or near the equator

Needs warm water and Coriolis force.

Q12An aircraft should avoid flying into a tropical cyclone because of:

  1. extreme turbulence, severe icing, hail and strong windshear
  2. lack of cloud
  3. low temperatures only
  4. smooth air
Show answer

Answer: A. extreme turbulence, severe icing, hail and strong windshear

Cb in the eyewall; heavy precipitation and lightning.

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