Click to enlarge Hurricanes only develop in certain areas of the earth. The most active region of tropical cyclone formation is the western north Pacific. Other areas that are common for cyclone formation are the north and south-west Indian Ocean, the western south Pacific, north and west Australia, the western north Pacific, the western north Atlantic, and the eastern north Pacific. Click to enlarge Tropical cyclones tend to travel common paths until they dissipate. The movement of tropical cyclones is characterized by their track .
Several things affect the track of a tropical cyclone.
First, tropical cyclones follow the predominant wind in the region. For example, late season hurricanes over the Atlantic often begin near Africa between 10 and 20 N, drift west on the trade winds , and then veer northeast at about 30 to 35 N as they meet the prevailing winds coming eastward across North America. The track is also affected by the Coriolis Force , troughs and subtropical ridges . Predicting the tracks of tropical cyclones would be much easier if the wind currents that drove these storms were fixed in time. The reality is that these currents are constantly changing so the tracks of tropical cyclones are difficult to predict.