Global rainfall is the primary distributor of heat through atmospheric circulation. El Nino serves as a perfect example of the atmospheric circulation changes that can result from a displacement of the normal precipitation patterns in the central Pacific. More precise information about this rainfall and its variability is crucial to understanding and predicting global climate and climate change. Tropical rain systems such as typhoons, hurricanes and monsoons produce floods worldwide. Composed of bands of thunderstorms, spiraling in toward the center, it often produces torrential rains.
Hurricanes are products of the tropical ocean and atmosphere.
Powered by heat from the sea, hurricanes are steered by the easterly trade winds and the temperate westerlies as well as by their own ferocious energy. Around their core, winds grow with great velocity, generating violent seas. Moving ashore, they can produce a tremendous storm surge while spawning tornadoes and producing torrential rains and floods. Tropical rainfall affects the lives and economics of half the Earth's population-residents of developing countries in or near the Earth's tropics. Rainfall variation in the tropics also can affect the weather in locations thousands of miles away, influencing the lives and livelihoods of populations worldwide.