<p>The original question asked why there were no hurricanes in the southern hemisphere.  The answer given:</p>
<p>It really is just a naming convention based on location.  You can see in the wikipedia article here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone#Classifications.2C_terminology.2C_and_naming" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone#Classifications.2C_terminology.2C_and_naming</a> , it says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, based on intensity: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group of more intense storms, whose name depends on the region. For example, if a tropical storm in the Northwestern Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds on the Beaufort scale, it is referred to as a typhoon; if a tropical storm passes the same benchmark in the Northeast Pacific Basin, or in the North Atlantic, it is called a hurricane. Neither &quot;hurricane&quot; nor &quot;typhoon&quot; is used in either the Southern Hemisphere or the Indian Ocean. In these basins, storms of a tropical nature are referred to as either tropical cyclones, severe tropical cyclones or very intense tropical cyclones.</p>
<p>... each basin uses a separate system of terminology, which can make comparisons between different basins difficult. In the Pacific Ocean, hurricanes from the Central North Pacific sometimes cross the 180th meridian into the Northwest Pacific, becoming typhoons (such as Hurricane/Typhoon Ioke in 2006); on rare occasions, the reverse will occur.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T17:45:28.557Z
OK. Then you can reformulate the quest as "Why are there no tropical cyclones in the southern atlantic basin?", if you prefer.
Richard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T18:21:16.380Z
Note that the Q has been edited to avoid the naming convention issues and this A no longer answers the Q.
casey
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T18:48:47.440Z
@casey yes it's really a different question now.
f.thorpe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T17:41:32.517Z
2014-11-14T04:15:56.777Z
2020-06-18T08:25:19.090Z
f.thorpe
<p>We see tropical cyclones (going by different names e.g. hurricane, typhoon, cyclone) all over the tropics, but it seems that there are never any storms in the southern Atlantic.  See this map of tropical cyclone activity and note the lack of activity in the south Atlantic and also in the south Pacific until you near Australia.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Vp0Xs.gif" alt="tropical cyclone map"><br/>
<sub>
<a href="http://www.ec0.today/news/articleView.html?idxno=39" rel="noreferrer">source</a>
</sub></p>

<p><strong>Where are all the tropical cyclones in the southern Atlantic basin?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T10:32:15.763Z
Note that the graphic appears poor... TCs do not form within a few degrees of the equator, and form over a wider part of the N Atlantic basin (in fact Beryl and Chris this week formed in areas probably outside the coloration of the map :-p).
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T18:20:35.857Z
@Michael this isn't a dupe of that Q.  That Q is about a storm transiting the equator and this question is about storm genesis south of the equator (specifically in the Atlantic)
casey
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T18:45:16.320Z
http://www.wral.com/weather/blogpost/1672862/
DavePhD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-14T04:20:29.257Z
A reference for the diagram?
arkaia
<meteorology><tropical-cyclone><atlantic>
Why are there no hurricanes in the southern Atlantic basin?
Richard
# Why are there no hurricanes in the southern Atlantic basin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-13)

We see tropical cyclones (going by different names e.g. hurricane, typhoon, cyclone) all over the tropics, but it seems that there are never any storms in the southern Atlantic. See this map of tropical cyclone activity and note the lack of activity in the south Atlantic and also in the south Pacific until you near Australia.

![tropical cyclone map](https://i.sstatic.net/Vp0Xs.gif)  
[source](http://www.ec0.today/news/articleView.html?idxno=39)

**Where are all the tropical cyclones in the southern Atlantic basin?**

**Tags:** meteorology, tropical-cyclone, atlantic

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: @Michael this isn't a dupe of that Q.  That Q is about a storm transiting the equator and this question is about storm genesis south of the equator (specifically in the Atlantic)  
> **username_3**: http://www.wral.com/weather/blogpost/1672862/  
> **username_4**: A reference for the diagram?  
> **username_1**: Note that the graphic appears poor... TCs do not form within a few degrees of the equator, and form over a wider part of the N Atlantic basin (in fact Beryl and Chris this week formed in areas probably outside the coloration of the map :-p).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2014-11-13. Score: 6

The original question asked why there were no hurricanes in the southern hemisphere. The answer given:

It really is just a naming convention based on location. You can see in the wikipedia article here: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone#Classifications.2C_terminology.2C_and_naming> , it says:

> Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, based on intensity: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group of more intense storms, whose name depends on the region. For example, if a tropical storm in the Northwestern Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds on the Beaufort scale, it is referred to as a typhoon; if a tropical storm passes the same benchmark in the Northeast Pacific Basin, or in the North Atlantic, it is called a hurricane. Neither "hurricane" nor "typhoon" is used in either the Southern Hemisphere or the Indian Ocean. In these basins, storms of a tropical nature are referred to as either tropical cyclones, severe tropical cyclones or very intense tropical cyclones.
>
> ... each basin uses a separate system of terminology, which can make comparisons between different basins difficult. In the Pacific Ocean, hurricanes from the Central North Pacific sometimes cross the 180th meridian into the Northwest Pacific, becoming typhoons (such as Hurricane/Typhoon Ioke in 2006); on rare occasions, the reverse will occur.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: OK. Then you can reformulate the quest as "Why are there no tropical cyclones in the southern atlantic basin?", if you prefer.  
> **username_2**: Note that the Q has been edited to avoid the naming convention issues and this A no longer answers the Q.  
> **username_5**: @username_2 yes it's really a different question now.  

---

