Tifa Cloud Edited

Tifa Cloud Edited theme by zee

Download: TifaCloudEdited.p3t

Tifa Cloud Edited Theme
(2 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Spiderman 3 versionD

Spiderman 3 versionD theme by Deemy

Download: Spiderman3_vD.p3t

Spiderman 3 vD Theme
(10 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Spiderman 2 versionD

Spiderman 2 versionD theme by Deemy

Download: Spiderman2_vD.p3t

Spiderman 2 vD Theme
(5 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Spiderman 1 versionD

Spiderman 1 versionD theme by Deemy

Download: Spiderman1_vD.p3t

Spiderman 1 vD Theme
(4 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Sexy v0.01

Sexy version 0.01 theme by rotrox

Download: Sexyv0.01.p3t

Sexy v0.01 Theme
(no backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Unreal Tournament 3 #6

Unreal Tournament 3 theme by Shane LeClair

Download: UnrealTournament3_6.p3t

Unreal Tournament 3 Theme 6
(5 backgrounds)

Unreal Tournament 3
Developer(s)Epic Games
Publisher(s)Midway Games
Producer(s)Jeffrey Kennedy Morris
Michael V. Capps
Designer(s)Steve Polge
Jim Brown
David Ewing
Programmer(s)Steve Polge
Artist(s)Jerry O'Flaherty
Shane Caudle
Paul David Jones
Writer(s)Michael V. Capps
Composer(s)Jesper Kyd
Rom Di Prisco
Kevin Riepl
SeriesUnreal
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • NA: November 19, 2007[1]
  • EU: November 23, 2007
  • AU: November 29, 2007
PlayStation 3
  • NA: December 10, 2007[2]
  • AU: February 21, 2008
  • EU: February 22, 2008
Xbox 360
  • AU: July 3, 2008
  • EU: July 4, 2008
  • NA: July 7, 2008[3]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Midway Games. Part of the Unreal franchise, it is the fourth game in the Unreal Tournament series, and the eighth and final game overall; its name is in reflection of the game being the first in the franchise to use Unreal Engine 3. It was released on November 19, 2007, for Microsoft Windows, December 10 for the PlayStation 3, and on July 3, 2008, for the Xbox 360. OS X and Linux ports were planned, but they were eventually cancelled. A free-to-play version, entitled Unreal Tournament 3 X, was leaked in late 2022 and cancelled in 2023.[4]

Similar to its predecessors, Unreal Tournament 3 is primarily an online multiplayer title. There are eight modes, including Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, as well as modes like Duel, Warfare, Betrayal and Greed. In vehicle maps, the player is equipped with a hover board, which allows players to quickly traverse large maps and grapple onto other teammates' vehicles. The game's single-player campaign does not follow a plot based around the eponymous tournament, but rather a Necris attack that occurs on a colony on an unknown planet, releasing armed Kralls, a warlike race of aliens, on the humans.

The game received positive reviews from critics, and sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.

Gameplay[edit]

Similar to the prior entries of the series, the game is primarily an online multiplayer title offering several game modes, including large-scale Warfare, Capture the Flag, and Deathmatch. It also includes an extensive offline multiplayer game with an in-depth story, beginning with a simple tournament ladder and including team members with unique personalities. The following game modes are included:

  • Deathmatch
  • Team Deathmatch
  • Capture the Flag
  • Duel – a one versus one game mode. It uses a queuing system: the winner stays, and the loser goes back to the end of the queue. A typical match lasts fifteen minutes with the winner being the player with the most kills.
  • Warfare – a mix of Onslaught and Assault game modes. While basic game rules are equal to those of Onslaught, Warfare adds countdown nodes (which, after being captured and defended for a certain period of time, create a vehicle or trigger an event helpful to the capturing team) as well as the orb, which can be used to instantly capture and defend nodes.
  • Vehicle Capture the Flag – Capture the Flag, with vehicles as part of the map; this game mode is distinct from the standard Capture the Flag mode. Also, players are given a hoverboard rather than a translocator.
  • Betrayal – this game type places freelance players on teams, and when the members of each team kill enemies, the pot for that team grows. Anybody on a team with a pot can betray the rest of the team by shooting them, thus taking the pot, but they must defend themselves from the betrayed teammates for 30 seconds after that, or the teammates receive extra points.
  • Greed – a game mode that (like the UT2004 mod of the same name) focuses on collecting skulls dropped from dead players and capturing them in the opposing team's base. For Greed, the game uses all Capture the Flag and Vehicle Capture the Flag maps.

Modes not returning from the prior Unreal Tournament games include Invasion, Mutant (having been later on partially replaced by the Titan mutator in the UT3 Titan Pack), Onslaught (replaced by Warfare), Bombing Run, Last Man Standing, Domination, and Double Domination. Assault was removed from the game during production.[5]

In this installment of Unreal Tournament, the vehicles are split into two factions, the Axon vehicles and Necris vehicles. The Axon vehicles are the same vehicles from Unreal Tournament 2004, but several have significant game play changes. In addition, on vehicle maps every player is equipped with a personal hover board, a skateboard-like device that allows players to quickly traverse large maps and grapple onto other teammates' vehicles. The hover board is vulnerable to attack, and any hit will knock the player off the board and disable him or her for several seconds, leaving the player exposed and vulnerable. The player cannot use any weapons while on the board.

Plot[edit]

Unlike the prior Unreal Tournament games, the single-player campaign does not follow a plot based around the Tournament Grand Championship, and therefore several of the teams within Unreal Tournament 3 are not Tournament competitors. The five playable factions are: the Iron Guard, a team of human mercenaries affiliated with the Axon; the Ronin, a band of four survivors of a Skaarj attack on a human colony; Liandri studius, a series of advanced humanoid robots custom-built or retrofitted for combat; the Krall, a warlike race of aliens formerly under the leadership of the Skaarj, returning from their initial appearance in the original Unreal; and the Necris, warriors who have undergone the process of the same name, making them stronger at the expense of replacing their biological processes with "Nanoblack", effectively turning them into undead soldiers (hence the name, Necris). In the Campaign, players control members of the Ronin, and the Necris serve as the chief antagonists.

In the game's story, a Necris attack occurs on the Twin Souls colony of Taryd, an Earth-like planet, releasing bloodthirsty reptilian Krall on the humans. The colony is defenseless, but a group of soldiers called 'Ronin' arrive on the scene, defending the survivors. Reaper, the group's leader, is caught in the explosion of an incoming rocket and passes out, but not before seeing an unknown Necris woman, revealed to be Necris High Inquisitor Akasha, executing a wounded soldier next to him. Reaper is rescued by Othello and Jester and wakes up in the base of the Izanagi, a megacorporation with a large private army, and meets with their leader Malcolm, a celebrated former tournament champion. Malcolm promises Reaper and the rest of Ronin that if they join the Izanagi, they will take the fight to the Necris and avenge the massacre of Twin Souls.

The missions of the campaign are identical to multiplayer matches, with the only difference being the enemies are computer-controlled bots instead of human players. The Izanagi pits Ronin against the Axon in a campaign to seize their vehicle technology, and then begins a campaign against the Liandri to seize their rich Tarydium mines, both of which are required for sustaining a war against the Necris. Shortly after this, the Necris launch a surprise invasion of Taryd, destroying cities and massacring civilians. The Necris are seen deploying tentacle-like tubes carrying Nanoblack into the planet's surface from orbit, in order to terraform the entire world. The Izanagi then mount a counterattack, and Ronin is sent on several missions to push the Necris back. After successfully repelling the Necris assault and ending the invasion, Reaper and the rest of Ronin decide to break ranks and pursue the Necris to their homeworld, Omicron-6, in an effort to kill Akasha for good.

Finally cornering Akasha in her last sanctuary on Omicron-6, Reaper defeats her in a duel and kills her with his rocket launcher. However, it is revealed that Malcolm has betrayed Ronin, allowing Necris troops to surround and kill Jester, Bishop, and Othello. Reaper swears revenge on Malcolm before powering up his rocket launcher and leaping to attack the Necris.

Development and release[edit]

The game was announced in May 2005, as Unreal Tournament 2007 for a 2006 release,[6] but the game was delayed until the first half of 2007.[7] The game was renamed to Unreal Tournament 3.[8] The original Unreal Tournament uses the first Unreal Engine, while UT2003 and UT2004 use Unreal Engine 2. Since 2004 incorporates all of the content from 2003, they are regarded as part of the same generation. UT3 is the third generation, as it runs on Unreal Engine 3 and does not reuse any content.[9] The game also uses motion blur effects.

Windows version[edit]

A limited collector's edition of the game features an exclusive collector's edition tin and a hardcover art book. A bonus DVD is also included, featuring more than twenty hours of Unreal Engine 3 tool kit video tutorials, the history of the Unreal Tournament series, and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Unreal Tournament 3. The Limited Collector's Edition was sold in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and most other territories.[10]

PlayStation 3 version[edit]

The PlayStation 3 version supports community-made mods that can be uploaded and downloaded to the PS3's HDD or external media, as well as mouse and keyboard inputs. The 1.1 patch was released in March 2008. It adds the ability for players using the North American and European versions to play together, fixes problems with some USB headsets, and displays the lowest pinging servers at the top of the server list. Some updates are only applied on the North American version, since the PAL version released in March 2008 was already partially updated.[11] The 2.0 patch was released on March 5, 2009, and adds better PC mod support, split screen, smarter AI, forty-eight obtainable Trophies, server-side improvements, an improved map vote, local multiplayer, and a new user interface. Online and LAN multiplayer for this version was terminated in July 2014, following the shutdown of all GameSpy servers.

Xbox 360 version[edit]

Upon release, the Xbox 360 version had five exclusive maps, two exclusive characters, a two-player split screen mode,[12] and all the downloadable content released by Epic already on the disc. With the release of the PS3 and PC "Titan Upgrade" patch on March 5, these versions offered the formerly exclusive Xbox 360 content, as well as other content.[13] The Xbox 360 version does not support user-generated mods, as additional content has to be verified by Microsoft before being released. It is the only version to support controllers only.

Cancelled Linux and Mac OS X versions[edit]

The Linux and Mac OS X versions of the game were planned to be released as downloadable installers that work with the retail disc. Ryan C. Gordon has uploaded screenshots of the game, dating from September 2008, running on both platforms.[14][15] In May 2009, Ryan stated that the UT3 port for Linux was still in process,[16] but later in December 2010, Steve Polge revealed that the Linux port would never be released, making it the second Unreal Tournament game not to be released on Linux.[17]

Soundtrack[edit]

Unreal Tournament 3: The Soundtrack is primarily based on the original Unreal Tournament score, which was composed by Straylight Productions and Michiel van den Bos.[18][19] Jesper Kyd and Rom Di Prisco remixed many of UT99's tracks and composed several other original tracks, which were released on November 20, 2007, by Sumthing Else. Sandhya Sanjana was featured as a guest vocalist. Kevin Riepl did also contribute in music production for the game, scoring the cutscenes as well as a few in-game music tracks.[20]

Titan Pack and Black Edition[edit]

A free update titled Titan Pack was released for the PC in March 2009; the PS3 version of the pack was released on March 19. The pack includes five maps and two characters that were formerly exclusive to the Xbox 360 version, along with eleven brand-new maps, two new game modes ("Greed" and "Betrayal"), and the Titan Mutator. The Titan Mutator causes a player to grow in size as they do better, while carrying alternative weapons and power-ups. The expansion also includes a new power-up, a new vehicle, two new deployables, and the addition of stinger turrets. A new patch was also released in conjunction with the Titan Pack, which allowed for various AI improvements (especially in vehicle modes), networking performance upgrades and added support for Steam Achievements (PC) and Trophies (PS3). It also adds a two-player split screen mode (formerly exclusive to the 360 version) and mod browsing for the PS3 version.

The Black Edition is a complete Unreal Tournament 3 package—included is the complete UT3 (with patch 2.0) as well as the Titan Pack.

Unreal Tournament 3 X[edit]

The game's online servers for the Windows version were shutdown on in January 2023, in order to focus on supporting the Epic Online Services. In December 2022, a free-to-play version, entitled Unreal Tournament 3 X, was leaked on Steam, meaning that the game would be using the Epic Online Services and full cross-play between Steam, GOG.com, and the Epic Games Store, with the latter platform being added when it released. Epic Games was to self-publish this version, and was slated for a 2023 release, but the development of this version was cancelled and the Steam page was reverted to its original name without any announcement.

Reception[edit]

Unreal Tournament 3 received positive reviews from critics. Xbox Magazine rated it 8.5 out of 10.[44] PlayStation: the Official Magazine gave it 5 stars out of 5 in its February 2008 issue, commending the game for graphics and gameplay. By March 2008, UT3 had sold over a million copies worldwide.[45][46]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Midway Press Release: PR 2007-11-19 A". June 22, 2008. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Midway Press Release: PR 2007-12-10 B". June 22, 2008. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "Midway Press Release: PR 2008-07-07 A". October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Plunkett, Luke (June 5, 2023). "Looks Like Epic Very Quietly Cancelled An Unreal Tournament Release". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  5. ^ "Unreal Tournament 3 '1UP Preview' from GameVideos". Gamevideos.1up.com. February 26, 2007. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.

    Dragonball Z versionD

    Dragonball Z versionD theme by Deemy

    Download: DragonballZ_vD.p3t

    Dragonball Z vD Theme
    (12 backgrounds)

    P3T Unpacker v0.12
    Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

    This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

    Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

    Instructions:

    Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

    The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

    The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

    For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
    p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Cyclone

Cyclone theme by unknown

Download: Cyclone.p3t

Cyclone Theme
(1 background)

An extratropical cyclone near Iceland

In meteorology, a cyclone (/ˈs.kln/) is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anticyclone).[1][2] Cyclones are characterized by inward-spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure.[3][4] The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale (the synoptic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale.[5] Mesocyclones, tornadoes, and dust devils lie within the smaller mesoscale.[6]

Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the tropical upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune.[7][8] Cyclogenesis is the process of cyclone formation and intensification.[9] Extratropical cyclones begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones. These zones contract and form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in their life cycle, extratropical cyclones occlude as cold air masses undercut the warmer air and become cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of the subtropical jet stream.

Weather fronts mark the boundary between two masses of air of different temperature, humidity, and densities, and are associated with the most prominent meteorological phenomena. Strong cold fronts typically feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather, and may on occasion be preceded by squall lines or dry lines. Such fronts form west of the circulation center and generally move from west to east; warm fronts form east of the cyclone center and are usually preceded by stratiform precipitation and fog. Warm fronts move poleward ahead of the cyclone path. Occluded fronts form late in the cyclone life cycle near the center of the cyclone and often wrap around the storm center.

Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of development of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm core.[10][11] Cyclones can transition between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases.[12] Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation.[13] Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.[14] In the Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific oceans, a tropical cyclone is generally referred to as a hurricane (from the name of the ancient Central American deity of wind, Huracan), in the Indian and south Pacific oceans it is called a cyclone, and in the northwestern Pacific it is called a typhoon.[15] The growth of instability in the vortices is not universal. For example, the size, intensity, moist-convection, surface evaporation, the value of potential temperature at each potential height can affect the nonlinear evolution of a vortex.[16][17]

Nomenclature[edit]

Henry Piddington published 40 papers dealing with tropical storms from Calcutta between 1836 and 1855 in The Journal of the Asiatic Society. He also coined the term cyclone, meaning the coil of a snake. In 1842, he published his landmark thesis, Laws of the Storms.[18]

Structure[edit]

Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis

There are a number of structural characteristics common to all cyclones. A cyclone is a low-pressure area.[19] A cyclone's center (often known in a mature tropical cyclone as the eye), is the area of lowest atmospheric pressure in the region.[19] Near the center, the pressure gradient force (from the pressure in the center of the cyclone compared to the pressure outside the cyclone) and the force from the Coriolis effect must be in an approximate balance, or the cyclone would collapse on itself as a result of the difference in pressure.[20]

Because of the Coriolis effect, the wind flow around a large cyclone is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.[21] In the Northern Hemisphere, the fastest winds relative to the surface of the Earth therefore occur on the eastern side of a northward-moving cyclone and on the northern side of a westward-moving one; the opposite occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.[22] In contrast to low-pressure systems, the wind flow around high-pressure systems are clockwise (anticyclonic) in the northern hemisphere, and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.

Formation[edit]

The initial extratropical low-pressure area forms at the location of the red dot on the image. It is usually perpendicular (at a right angle to) the leaf-like cloud formation seen on satellite during the early stage of cyclogenesis. The location of the axis of the upper level jet stream is in light blue.
Tropical cyclones form when the energy released by the condensation of moisture in rising air causes a positive feedback loop over warm ocean waters.[23]

Cyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of cyclonic circulation in the atmosphere.[9] Cyclogenesis is an umbrella term for several different processes that all result in the development of some sort of cyclone.[24] It can occur at various scales, from the microscale to the synoptic scale.

Extratropical cyclones begin as waves along weather fronts before occluding later in their life cycle as cold-core systems. However, some intense extratropical cyclones can become warm-core systems when a warm seclusion occurs.

Tropical cyclones form as a result of significant convective activity, and are warm core.[11] Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation.[13] Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.[14] Cyclolysis is the opposite of cyclogenesis, and is the high-pressure system equivalent, which deals with the formation of high-pressure areasAnticyclogenesis.[25]

A surface low can form in a variety of ways. Topography can create a surface low. Mesoscale convective systems can spawn surface lows that are initially warm-core.[26] The disturbance can grow into a wave-like formation along the front and the low is positioned at the crest. Around the low, the flow becomes cyclonic. This rotational flow moves polar air towards the equator on the west side of the low, while warm air move towards the pole on the east side. A cold front appears on the west side, while a warm front forms on the east side. Usually, the cold front moves at a quicker pace than the warm front and "catches up" with it due to the slow erosion of higher density air mass out ahead of the cyclone. In addition, the higher density air mass sweeping in behind the cyclone strengthens the higher pressure, denser cold air mass. The cold front over takes the warm front, and reduces the length of the warm front.[27] At this point an occluded front forms where the warm air mass is pushed upwards into a trough of warm air aloft, which is also known as a trowal.[28]

Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone.[29] The mechanisms by which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those that produce mid-latitude cyclones. Tropical cyclogenesis, the development of a warm-core cyclone, begins with significant convection in a favorable atmospheric environment. There are six main requirements for tropical cyclogenesis:

  1. sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures,[30]
  2. atmospheric instability,
  3. high humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere
  4. enough Coriolis force to develop a low-pressure center
  5. a preexisting low-level focus or disturbance
  6. low vertical wind shear.[31]

An average of 86 tropical cyclones of tropical storm intensity form annually worldwide,[32] with 47 reaching hurricane/typhoon strength, and 20 becoming intense tropical cyclones (at least Category 3 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale).[33]

Synoptic scale[edit]

A fictitious synoptic chart of an extratropical cyclone affecting the UK and Ireland. The blue arrows between isobars indicate the direction of the wind, while the "L" symbol denotes the centre of the "low". Note the occluded, cold and warm frontal boundaries.

The following types of cyclones are identifiable in synoptic charts.

Surface-based types[edit]

There are three main types of surface-based cyclones: Extratropical cyclones, Subtropical cyclones and Tropical cyclones

Extratropical cyclone[edit]

An extratropical cyclone is a synoptic scale low-pressure weather system that does not have tropical characteristics,[34] as it is connected with fronts and horizontal gradients (rather than vertical) in temperature and dew point otherwise known as "baroclinic zones".[35]

"Extratropical" is applied to cyclones outside the tropics, in the middle latitudes. These systems may also be described as "mid-latitude cyclones" due to their area of formation, or "post-tropical cyclones" when a tropical cyclone has moved (extratropical transition) beyond the tropics.[35][36] They are often described as "depressions" or "lows" by weather forecasters and the general public. These are the everyday phenomena that, along with anticyclones, drive weather over much of the Earth.

Although extratropical cyclones are almost always classified as baroclinic since they form along zones of temperature and dewpoint gradient within the westerlies, they can sometimes become barotropic late in their life cycle when the temperature distribution around the cyclone becomes fairly uniform with radius.[37] An extratropical cyclone can transform into a subtropical storm, and from there into a tropical cyclone, if it dwells over warm waters sufficient to warm its core, and as a result develops central convection.[38] A particularly intense type of extratropical cyclone that strikes during winter is known colloquially as a nor'easter.

Polar low[edit]
A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009

A polar low is a small-scale, short-lived atmospheric low-pressure system (depression) that is found over the ocean areas poleward of the main polar front in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Polar lows were first identified on the meteorological satellite imagery that became available in the 1960s, which revealed many small-scale cloud vortices at high latitudes. The most active polar lows are found over certain ice-free maritime areas in or near the Arctic during the winter, such as the Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, Labrador Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Polar lows dissipate rapidly when they make landfall. Antarctic systems tend to be weaker than their northern counterparts since the air-sea temperature differences around the continent are generally smaller [citation needed]. However, vigorous polar lows can be found over the Southern Ocean. During winter, when cold-core lows with temperatures in the mid-levels of the troposphere reach −45 °C (−49 °F) move over open waters, deep convection forms, which allows polar low development to become possible.[39] The systems usually have a horizontal length scale of less than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) and exist for no more than a couple of days. They are part of the larger class of mesoscale weather systems. Polar lows can be difficult to detect using conventional weather reports and are a hazard to high-latitude operations, such as shipping and gas and oil platforms. Polar lows have been referred to by many other terms, such as polar mesoscale vortex, Arctic hurricane, Arctic low, and cold air depression. Today the term is usually reserved for the more vigorous systems that have near-surface winds of at least 17 m/s.[40]

Subtropical[edit]

Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016

A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of a tropical cyclone and some characteristics of an extratropical cyclone. They can form between the equator and the 50th parallel.[41] As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were unclear whether they should be characterized as tropical cyclones or extratropical cyclones, and used terms such as quasi-tropical and semi-tropical to describe the cyclone hybrids.[42] By 1972, the National Hurricane Center officially recognized this cyclone category.[43] Subtropical cyclones began to receive names off the official tropical cyclone list in the Atlantic Basin in 2002.[41] They have broad wind patterns with maximum sustained winds located farther from the center than typical tropical cyclones, and exist in areas of weak to moderate temperature gradient.[41]

Since they form from extratropical cyclones, which have colder temperatures aloft than normally found in the tropics, the sea surface temperatures required is around 23 degrees Celsius (73 °F) for their formation, which is three degrees Celsius (5 °F) lower than for tropical cyclones.[44] This means that subtropical cyclones are more likely to form outside the traditional bounds of the hurricane season. Although subtropical storms rarely have hurricane-force winds, they may become tropical in nature as their cores warm.[45]

Tropical[edit]

2017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map

A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain.

Sora

Sora theme by PSPMAN07

Download: Sora.p3t

Sora Theme
(3 backgrounds)

Sora is Japanese for 'sky' (空).

Sora or SORA may refer to:

People[edit]

Places[edit]

Entertainment[edit]

Biology[edit]

Technology[edit]

Transportation[edit]

Other uses[edit]

See also[edit]