Why doesn't Chile get hit by hurricanes?

Chile, and the rest of South America south of the Tropic of Capricorn, has been favored by several oceanographic and resulting weather features that doesn't support tropical (or extra-tropical) storms. Graphic courtesy of lightningbase-cdn.com. And a closer inspection: Graphic courtesy of AccuWeather. read more

Hurricanes (Atlantic Ocean) and Typhoons (Pacific Ocean) are storms that are powered by the rising warm air of the oceans they travel over. The Pacific Ocean near Chile is very cold, preventing the development of tropical storms. For this reason, Northern Chile is basically a desert next to an ocean full of penguins. read more

Because hurricanes tend to move toward the west or the northwest, they usually move toward the U.S. East Coast but move away from the U.S. West Coast. Another reason why hurricanes never strike the U.S. West coast is that water temperatures in the Pacific are much cooler than the Atlantic basin waters. read more