hurricane eye

The hurricane eye is the calm center of a tropical cyclone—a roughly circular area of light winds, clear or partly cloudy skies, and lowest atmospheric pressure.

While violent winds spiral around it, the eye itself is eerily peaceful: The storm surge hit just as the eye passed over.

Eyes typically span 20 to 40 miles across.

When the eye passes overhead, the brief calm precedes a second onslaught as the opposite eyewall arrives.