When looking at these radar systems, I always notice there are hurricane like spirals south near Antarctica. Does anyone know if those are actually as powerful as hurricanes, and do they make landfall?
> Cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently become intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean. The ocean-area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the "nor'easter" is a classic variant. So called as the weather (wind, rain, snow) tends to come from the nort-east due to cyclonic rotation.