Atlantic Hurricane Paths

[Lauren]

Why exactly do they follow the similar path that they do? I know how and why hurricanes form but i don't know why they follow a certain path.

I've had this explained to me before, but to be honest the language was bit complicated :huh: .

I know they will start in warm waters as that is what they need to form, but why do they almost always track inland and then up the East coast or slightly inland?

Why not inland and down the Brazilian coast for example?

If you could explain it laymans terms that would be appreciated

[Coast]

Well I'd be interested to know too, here is a map of the 17 this season:

[Paranoid]

I think it's at least in part due to trade winds; the prevailing winds in that part of the world blow northwestwards which guides most hurricanes up into the Caribbean or the East Coast of America. Also, further south than about 5' of the equator, the Coriolis force is usually too weak to sustain the rotation of tropical systems, meaning that places like Brazil and the Caribbean coast of South America are usually spared landfalls from Hurricanes. The big gap in the middle of the Atlantic west of Africa is due to the Azores high, which is usually strong enough that Hurricanes can't travel through it so they have to travel around it (the position of this is a pretty major factor on whether storms will be sent into the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico or the East Coast).

Not sure how helpful (or correct) that is, but i think that's the general gist behind why they follow those traditional paths.

[Dorsetbred]

Some more info care of NOAA:

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G5.html

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G8.html

[Lauren]

Thanks for that. So the subtropical ridge acts like a barrier making the storm have to go round the edge of it (the edge being the East coast). In that case, what exactly is the subtroipical ridge?

[Isolated Frost]

Thanks for that. So the subtropical ridge acts like a barrier making the storm have to go round the edge of it (the edge being the East coast). In that case, what exactly is the subtroipical ridge?

Basically a belt of high pressure around 30N and 30S, the Azores High is part of it.