Hurricanes Not Found in Pacific --It’s Too Cold

The Pacific Coast does not see the type of powerful hurricanes that often pound the Eastern Seaboard because the ocean water here is colder than it is in the Atlantic.

Giant storms such as Hurricane Gloria derive their energy from the interaction between cool upper winds and warm, moist ocean air. The chilly Pacific Ocean waters off California do not provide enough warmth to serve as a source of heat.

“Your water is too cold,” said Gene Rasmusson, head of the diagnostic division in the Climate Analysis Center in suburban Maryland, an arm of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. “Lots of storms form down off Mexico. But, when they move north or northwest, they hit cold water and die. Cold water shuts off the energy supply.”

Farther out in the western Pacific, Rasmusson added, “the water is warmer, so you do get typhoons there.”

The essence of a storm like Gloria is heat energy. A hurricane with the force of Gloria can generate winds in excess of 145 m.p.h. as far as 100 Miles from the eye of the storm.