Why hurricanes hit the east coast of the US, but amlost never the west coast?

Answer 1

The Pacific does get hurricanes/tropical storms. Actually, the eastern North Pacific Ocean off Mexico and Central America is the second most active hurricane alley with nearly one quarter of the world's tropical storms. In a typical year, 17 tropical storms form there, compared to 9 or 10 in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Dispite all the activity over there, California and the rest of the US pacific coast rarely sees hurricane activity for two reasons.

First, winds tend to blow toward the west-northwest. In the Atlantic, this direction usually brings the storms towards the US. In the Eastern Pacific, a west-northwest track would take the storm away from the California coast.

Second, water temperatures are often too cold in the eastern Pacific ocean (California coast). Along the Atlantic coast, the Gulf Stream provides warm deep water above 27°C (about 80°F) to fuel hurricanes and tropical storms. Water currents off southern California are around 22EC (about 70°-71°F), normally too cold to sustain hurricanes.

If any of these storms were to make their way toward the US pacific coast, they would dissipate quickly because of the cold water temps.

Answer 2

Tropical storms in the Atlantic form at low latitudes, and increase in strength as they are transported over warm tropical water westward in what are known as the Tropical Easterlies.

Tropical storms also form in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico, but they too strengthen in warm waters as they travel westward in those same Tropical Easterlies. Of course there's nobody out there where those storms are, it just rains and storms on the fish (and any terribly unlucky fishing boats or commercial ships).

Even if a tropical storm headed up the coast from Mexico towards California, it would encounter increasingly colder and colder water, depriving the storm of its energy source. This in fact has happened on occasion, and although the results are some shortlived storm activity in southern California and Arizona, it's never of tropical storm intensity. The cold current coming down the Pacific coast from Alaska effectively prevents tropical storms from hitting the west coast intact.

Answer 3

The water temperature is too cold. The water temp is 70 degrees off the coast of southern cali in the middle of summer and hurricanes need 80+ degree water to survive.

Answer 4

Hurricaines start over warm water off Africa and drift westward to get to us. There is no body of warm water to the east of the west coast - just land. The east coast has the warm carribean water to add energy to the hurricaine. The water off the west coast is quite cold.

Answer 5

Some hurricanes do form in east Pacific but few head for the west coast of USA. That may change in the coming years.
The year of Katrina saw a few hurricanes headed towards Spain-now that is rare- they never got there but it was weird to say the least.

Answer 6

hurricanes travel from east to west because of the coriolis force, so it follows that they hit the east coast of the us and not the west coast.

Answer 7

El Nino means The Nino

Answer 8

Water temperature and weather patterns.