Watch Crash Course Geography Season 1 Episode 12 Online

Today we’re going to talk about two types of cyclones: mid-latitude cyclones and tropical cyclones. Mid-latitude cyclones are huge weather systems that bring day-to-day weather in the mid-latitudes. They're the reason the weather is often unpredictable. We'll focus on the Northern Hemisphere and how these cyclones form along the polar front. Then, we'll shift to tropical cyclones also called hurricanes or typhoons - those smaller spinning vortices of air usually originating in the tropics that can cause widespread damage to coastal communities. We'll talk about the Bhola cyclone, which as of 2021 is the deadliest tropical cyclone in history, and we'll take a closer look at the Sundarbans in the low-lying coastal areas of Bangladesh and India to see how mangroves play a crucial role as a natural ecological barrier to these storms.