Extratropical cyclone

thumb|250px|This animation shows extratropical cyclone

Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth (outside the tropics) having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and horizontal gradients in temperature and dew point otherwise known as "baroclinic zones". Extratropical cyclones are the everyday phenomena which, along with anticyclones, drive the weather over much of the Earth, producing anything from cloudiness and mild shower to heavy gales and thunderstorms.

Terminology

Extratropical cyclones encompass a class of storms with many names. Although they are sometimes referred to as "cyclones", this is imprecise; cyclone applies to numerous types of low pressure areas. The descriptor extratropical signifies that this type of cyclone generally occurs outside the tropics in the middle latitudes of Earth. The term mid-latitude cyclones may be used because of where they form; "post-tropical cyclones" if extratropical transition has occurred. Weather forecasters and the general public often describe them as "depressions" or "lows". Terms like frontal cyclone,......
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