Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

Question:  Do hurricanes always move from east to west?
 honest abe

Answer:
Hurricanes develop in the tropics. They are powered by heat from the sea. They
generally form in the easterly trade wind belt which is from the equator to
about 30 degrees north latitude. If hurricanes form far enough north or drift
northward they can get caught in the westerlies and move west to east.
Hurricanes that affect the United States may form in the Caribbean, the Gulf
of Mexico or in the Atlantic as far away as off the coast of Africa. Storms
that approach the U.S. southeast coast from the east tend to curve north then
move northeast along or just of the coast. Hurricanes can maintain their
strength of the east coast because of the warm ocean currents there. However
hurricanes will weaken rapidly over colder waters or over land where they lose
their source of energy - warm ocean water.
 
Allsopp