Why can't a hurricane pass from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere?

Answer 1

Example: Snow doesn't fall in the summer for the same reason.

In Fall, the Northern Hemisphere is growing colder than the Southern Hemisphere. Hurricanes form north of the equator because they are the process of water vapor cooling to form rainclouds, as condensation turns gas into liquid.

The hurricane requires energy in the form of heat and high pressure to fuel the storm and continue sucking more water from the ocean or bodies of water. The hot, heavy air around the tropical storm is sucked in by the cool, low pressure rainclouds.

So the actual change from Summer to Fall in the Northern Hemisphere is what fuels the hurricane. Everything south of the Equator - which divides the world in half - is growing warmer and heavier from the heat of the sun.

Hurricanes suck up all the warm, heavy water vapor left in the Northern Hemisphere that it can before the storm cools off and all the water turns into rain or ice, by equalizing the storm's temperature and pressure with the atmosphere.

This is why a tropical storm can become a category 5 hurricane. It begins to gain momentum from water vapor in the ocean cooling rapidly as the seasons start to change. If it doesn't suck up enough hot air to cool it down before reaching land, the tropical storm won't become a hurricane.

Q: Why can't a hurricane pass from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere?

A: The Southern Hemisphere is growing warmer than the Northern Hemisphere during hurricane season, so the water vapor in the Southern Hemisphere no longer has a chance to cool off, and form a low pressure rainstorm. The Equator acts like a high pressure blanket while the sun heats up the southern half of the earth and the north cools and condenses water vapor into rain.

Keep in mind, all of what I just wrote is memory and logic from high school environmental science class. I might have made a mistake. This was fun to write though, it got me thinking after not being in school for 2 years!!

Answer 2

Hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere move clockwise due to the Coriolis effect, while hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere move counterclockwise. This difference in rotational direction is caused by the Earth's rotation and prevents hurricanes from crossing the equator.