Why are hurricanes more likely to make landfall in Florida than they are to hit California?

Answer 1

Florida is in a tropical to subtropical region and is surrounded by warm ocean water. These are the conditions that produce hurricanes and allow them to strengthen. Large-scale wind currents also tend to steer hurricanes to the north and west which takes many of these storms into the southeastern quarter of the U.S.

Because Florida has both an Atlantic coast and a coast on the Gulf of Mexico it can easily get hit by Hurricanes coming from either direction. Also because most of Florida is close to the ocean - either to the east or to the west and or to the South, Hurricanes can remain fueled by the warm ocean water rather than deteriorating into tropical storms.

Answer 2

Hurricanes sometimes form off the coast of Africa, near Cape Verde. These hurricanes usually move west, and are sometimes pushed north because of high pressure. Florida juts out right in the middle of this path.

Answer 3

Hurricanes are powered by moisture that evaporates from warm ocean water. Florida is bordered by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream.

By contrast, California is bordered by a cold ocean current. Any hurricane on its way to California will likely dissipate before reaching shore.

Answer 4

There are hurricanes in the Pacific and Atlantic because that's the only place they occur. A tropical cyclone in the Indian ocean is called a typhoon. Otherwise, the storms are identical. There are actually far more tropical cyclones in the west than in the east, mostly because the Pacific is much larger than the Atlantic. There is enough space for a typhoon to get going without much help. It can then blow right on through to the Indian Ocean. Atlantic hurricanes require assistance of the African easterly jet, so they only occur in northern summer. Pacific storms occur year round, and appear in both hemispheres; Atlantic hurricanes are (with one recorded exception) only in the northern hemisphere.

I'm going to guess that you probably have the impression that Atlantic storms are more common because you live in North America. Pacific storms rarely affect the North American mainland. If you lived in eastern Asia or on the east coast of Africa, you'd have a different view.

Answer 5

Hurricanes develop over tropical ocean water and tend to travel westward. Many develop on the western sides of ocean basins. The southeastern U.S. and the Gulf Coast border the tropical waters of the west side of the Atlatic basin, which is a hurricane forming region. The large scale wind currents tend to direct these storms to the west, sometimes turning the north toward the U.S.

Answer 6

They don't ... but they get into the papers.

Answer 7

Shallow waters there are the hottest in the area.

Answer 8

hurricane making landfall in fla are more common becaquse, the water is a lot warmer there.

Answer 9

in the Florida Panhandle
Miami