Can hurricanes form in the Southern Hemisphere?
Hurricanes can, and often do, form in the Southern Hemisphere, where they’re called cyclones. The factors that aid in tropical storm development, including warm ocean water and low wind shear, are present in both of the Earth’s hemispheres. Tropical cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere spin in a clockwise direction, which is opposite to hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, the Southern Hemisphere typically has about half the number of hurricanes as the Northern Hemisphere each year. Since the seasons are opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, the hurricane season there lasts through the Northern Hemisphere’s colder months — late October through May. The Southern Hemisphere has three major basins for tropical storm development: the Southwest Indian Ocean, the Australian Region, and the South Pacific Ocean. The storms primarily affect Australia and southeastern Africa. Tropical storms rarely occur in the South Atlantic because of cooler waters, high wind shear, and the absen
