No Hurricane Has Been Known To Cross the Equator?

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No Hurricane Has Been Known To Cross the Equator?

Snopes
By Madison Dapcevich
Oct. 29, 2023

Rating:
True



That hurricanes do not cross the equator is a claim that has spread online for years, and that’s because the concept on which this idea is based – the Coriolis Effect – is a complex one.

Earth's rotation influences winds and surface ocean currents, creating the above-mentioned effect. Along the equator, circulating air is deflected from a straight pattern into a curved path. This results in a right-bound deflection in the Northern Hemisphere and a leftward deflection in the Southern Hemisphere.

Snopes found examples of the claim dating back to at least 2003, with posts suggesting as much having appeared on various social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Quora, and the below Reddit post, which had over 45,000 upvotes at the time of this publication:

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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/no-hurricane-known-to-cross-equator/

[jmyrlefuller]

It's true.

Cyclonic forces that allow hurricanes to form rotate in opposite directions in each hemisphere. Clockwise in the Southern, counterclockwise in the northern.

If, by some chance, a hurricane were to by its own exorbitant momentum cross the equator, the change in direction in those cyclonic forces would tear the storm apart quickly.

That's also why the areas around the equator are known as The Doldrums, with very little prevailing wind—and why there's a huge Sahara Desert.