A hurricane looks like a massive, swirling storm system with a distinctive structure visible from above, especially in satellite images. It has a central calm area called the "eye," which is typically clear and can be 20 to 30 miles wide. Surrounding the eye is the "eyewall," a towering ring of intense thunderstorms with the fastest winds and heaviest rain. Beyond the eyewall are spiral rainbands—curved bands of clouds and storms extending outward, often tens of miles wide, producing heavy rain and sometimes tornadoes
. From a fluid dynamics perspective, the hurricane's air spirals upward and inward, creating a hollow cone shape at the center where calm air sinks, forming the eye. The eye is warmer and clearer than the surrounding storm because sinking air compresses and warms, clearing clouds
. When viewed from space or high altitude, the hurricane appears as a large, spinning cyclone with a well-defined circular eye at the center, surrounded by dense cloud bands rotating counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere)
. In summary, visually a hurricane looks like a giant, spinning wheel of clouds with a calm, clear eye at its center, encircled by violent storms in the eyewall and spiral rainbands extending outward
