THE GOLDEN SPIRAL AND THE GOLDEN NUMBER IN METEOROLOGY

1. 2. 3.

1. Hurricane Mitch when it was near peak strength (October 26, 1998).

2. Bangladesh cyclone (1991).

3. Tornado in Anadarko, Oklahoma (1999).

It can be noted, from the previous images, that some meteorological phenomena, such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes, take the form of immense logarithmic spirals. These spirals recall the golden spiral, which is a particular logarithmic spiral characterized by a constant ratio between consecutive radii, whose value is equal to the golden number φ. A golden spiral can be obtained, with good approximation, using the Fibonacci sequence, in which every positive integer is the sum of the two previous numbers and the ratio between two consecutive terms tends to approximate, better and better, the golden number φ, gradually proceeding in the series of numbers.

It should be emphasized that even ocean waves follow the logarithmic spiral shape when they reach the maximum height.