The northern hemisphere gets it's cyclone season from June 1 thru November 30, and the southern hemisphere has theirs the opposite six months. Why don't hurricanes form in the south Atlantic Ocean?
2007-02-21 07:37:15 · 3 answers · asked by Cassie 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
They do but not very often. There are three requirements for the formation of tropical revolving storms. They cannot form within 5° of the equator; there must be a pre-existing low pressure system; and the sea surface temperature must be above 26°C. It is this last that causes the problem.
If you look at the areas where these storms form most frequently - the South China Sea and the Caribbean Sea and the other areas like the seas around Australia and the northern Indian ocean, they are all large shallow seas with land or islands in close proximity. The sea surface reaches 26° easily. In the south Atlantic there is very little between the coast of South America and the coast of Africa. It is deep ocean that is on the move. The sea surface temperature seldom reaches 26°C and when it does, it doesn't stay there long enough for a storm to generate.
The warm seas provide the fuel for the system. Evaporation from the sea puts water vapour into the air which condenses as cloud and releases latent heat in doing so. It is the latent heat that fuels the hurricane. If the seas are not warm enough, there is insufficient fuel to get the system going.
2007-02-21 07:53:19 · answer #1 · answered by tentofield 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
They do, but very rarely. The reason is because the circumstances that allow for hurricane formation in the North Atlantic don't occur in the South Atlantic. More details at the link ...
2007-02-21 07:55:27 · answer #2 · answered by Navigator 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Finally, that's what I was looking for! Thanks to author of this question.
2016-08-23 18:51:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋