THE WEATHER 



usual in the south of England, the core of 

 the cyclone passes to the north of us, while it 

 approaches, the wind will blow from the south- 

 west When it travels on, the wind veers first 

 to the west, and finally to the north-west as the 

 cyclone passes away, and the weather becomes 

 finer and dryer. If the core of the cyclone is 

 near us, the wind and the changes in the wind 

 are much more violent, and gales may blow from 

 almost all points of the compass within a few 

 hours. 



There are other reasons besides the influence 

 of the accompanying winds which usually make 

 a cyclone bring wet weather, while an anti- 

 cyclone is often responsible for drought In an 

 anti-cyclone the air, as we have seen, is falling 

 from the upper regions of the atmosphere, where, 

 as those know who climb mountains, it is very 

 cold. The cold air can hold but little water in 

 suspension, and is therefore very dry. As it 

 falls it is compressed, and therefore is slightly 

 wanned, though it probably is still colder than 

 the air which was already below it. When it 

 is warmed it is capable of taking up more water ; 

 this it does, and, taking water from everything it 

 can, produces very drying winds. In a cyclone 

 the reverse occurs. The warm air, which is 

 saturated with moisture from the ocean, is sucked 

 inwards to the centre of the cyclone with a 

 constantly increasing spin, and then whirled 

 upwards. As it rises it expands and therefore 



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