The term 'pinwheel eye' exists.

[Pedro Fernández]

I open this topic due to the Chacor's reply in the topic about 'FUNA'. Yesterday, I made this question: Is FUNA showing a pinwheel eye? Then, Chacor answered me that he had never heard the term pinwheel eye and he thought I was refering to pinhole eye. After that I thought I was wrong and I had confused the term in English.

But... I have been thinking about that since yesterday and, looking for more data in Google, I have found the term which I was refering yesterday. Please, look at this image.



It is hurricane ISABEL, of 2003 season. Look at its eye... This is a pinwheel eye.

Now, look at this image of FUNA:



And now, a little indication drawn over the image:



Inside the eye of FUNA, there are three or four cloudy structures like the spokes of an alloy wheel...

This is my opinion.

[artist]

awesome pics! I think I have heard of this referred by another name but can't remember it. Maybe someone that knows will come along and tell us.

[wxman57]

I also observed an even rarer occurrence - the "Star Trek communicator Pin Eye" effect:

[Squarethecircle]

Is your point that just because the structure seems like something insane that it doesn't necessarily mean that there is anything out of the ordinary? Or are you just poking fun?

[wxman57]

:uarrow: Is your point that just because the structure seems like something insane that it doesn't necessarily mean that there is anything out of the ordinary? Or are you just poking fun?

The latter. My communicator pin pic was from Isabel, too. When I loaded that picture with McIDAS I saw the pin shape immediately. Isabel had some fascinating structures inside its eye. Pinwheels, multiple mini vortices, and my Star Trek pin.

Just trying to liven up the discussion with a little humor on a cold winter day.

Here's another shot showing the center with 5 mesovortices rotating around a central vortex, just as had been predicted would happen in an annular hurricane by some models:

[Squarethecircle]

Yeah, Isabel was pretty darn awesome. I think I saw some cool stuff in Krosa's eye as well, though it was only a minor feature.

Thanks for the humor, BTW.

[Ptarmigan]

I also observed an even rarer occurrence - the "Star Trek communicator Pin Eye" effect:

It does look like it.

[Pedro Fernández]

I think this type of rare features in the eye of hurricanes is related to annular hurricanes, although I am not sure at all.............

[brunota2003]

Well, I dont know about pinwheel eye, but the features inside of Ophelia's eye that were caught on the local radar (MHX) are definitely interesting.

I believe these swirls proved critical in maintaining Ophelia's eastern eyewall, which allowed it to transport those stronger winds to the surface as the wall rotated up onto land. If you view the radar and look, where the swirls touch the eyewall, there is immediately an explosion of thunderstorms added into it. Now, are these just thunderstorms that would of occured without the swirls? Maybe, but if so, why are they not forming elsewhere or while the swirls are not present in that area?

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/a ... localradar

[Pedro Fernández]

Wow................ Incredible animation

Pinwheel eyes could be related to Hot Towers...

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a0 ... index.html

Perhaps that storms explosion is related to them, Bruna.

[Crostorm]

This one is also Isabel-pentagram



http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com

[KatDaddy]

What type of weather conditions occur in and around the mesovortices? Is it similar to tornadic conditions rotating around the eyewall? It looks like low clouds around the eye with no convection. I bet it would be amazing to how rapid the low clouds would be moving in the mesovortices.

[Crostorm]

Look this one

[Coredesat]

That's just Isabel again, from around the same time period - same story (well-defined mesovortices in the eye).

[HURAKAN]

What about these ones!

[HurricaneRobert]

Just a little puffy cloud