Extratropical cyclone

<p>Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are <a href="/facts/Low-pressure_area/rphmr6qP">low-pressure areas</a> which, along with the <a href="/facts/Anticyclone/wBufWaAW">anticyclones</a> of <a href="/facts/High-pressure_area/LLPdNjMW">high-pressure areas</a>, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical <a href="/facts/Cyclone/T8IEU0aP">cyclones</a> are capable of producing anything from cloudiness and mild <a href="/facts/Rain/MLqcQEyx">showers</a> to severe <a href="/facts/Hail/8sVew1sN">hail</a>, <a href="/facts/Thunderstorm/F6hUzuAu">thunderstorms</a>, <a href="/facts/Blizzard/vSKo2dp8">blizzards</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tornado/HSGNQzHa">tornadoes</a>. These types of cyclones are defined as <a href="/facts/Synoptic_scale_meteorology/PMYwbEWA">large scale (synoptic)</a> <a href="/facts/Low-pressure_area/rphmr6qP">low pressure</a> <a href="/facts/Weather_system/rphmr6qP">weather systems</a> that occur in the <a href="/facts/Middle_latitudes/spJe2FNR">middle latitudes</a> of the Earth. In contrast with <a href="/facts/Tropical_cyclone/FQzVXly7">tropical cyclones</a>, extratropical cyclones produce rapid changes in temperature and <a href="/facts/Dew_point/PmBJqCTa">dew point</a> along broad lines, called <a href="/facts/Weather_front/n4PXdp1f">weather fronts</a>, about the center of the cyclone.
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Extratropical cyclone open-in-new

Extratropical cyclone