Psychic side of a hurricane:

Intertropical Convergence Zone

Definition:

Intertropical convergence zone is the zone on earth near the equator. This zone is the zone
where the weather is the most unpredictable. The warmest air on earth is rising up there,
which can cause large low pressure areas, which can develop into a hurricane. The rising air
movement is caused by the fast amount of the condensation of the seawater.

As you can see in this picture the wind (the surface winds) is pulled to an Intertropical
Convergence Zone. (Low-pressure area in the neighbourhood of the equator) For the North
there are 2 different surface winds that come together. This causes heavy rainfall and tropical
storms. With these winds and the warm air there are enough elements to produce a heavy
hurricane. What you also see with hurricanes is that tropical waves from Africa help to
develop the hurricane even more.

Zenith point:

The Intertropical Convergence

zone can be over land. When this
happens, the surface winds move
slowly back to the sun’s zenith
point. A zenith point is the place
where the distance to the sun is
the lowest. In our case this is the
equator. As you can see in this
picture, the man in the middle is
the equator and if you look you
can see that the spot right above
him is the zenith spot. The area
right above the equator is the
sun’s zenith.
The Intertropical convergence zone is never the same line. The line is not the equator but the
line is always different. But the line is always close to the equator.
Convergence or Divergence:
As you can see here on the right, is a
picture that shows how the
convergence zone between the
Caribbean Sea works. This is a typical
example of the working of the surface
winds to hurricanes. What you can see
is that a hurricane (if it forms before it
comes in the waters of the Caribbean
Sea) can choose between 2 directions.
To the north (further on the Atlantic
Ocean) or to the south (in the
Caribbean Sea, or even later to the
Golf of Mexico). This choice is made
by the surface winds, that push the
hurricane into a direction. If a
hurricane is above the Lesser Islands, the chances are very high that the hurricane will move
further on the Atlantic Ocean, but there is a small chance (25 to 50%) that it goes to the
Caribbean Sea, by moving over Cuba or Dominican Republic.
But if it is right above Puerto Rico, or just below Puerto Rico, the surface winds push the
hurricane into the Caribbean Sea.

This theory is very useful to

predict the path of a hurricane. If
you know where the hurricane is
when he passes the Lesser
Islands, you know where the
hurricane is heading for. The
surface winds are the winds that
push the hurricanes into a
direction. Of course the
hurricane moves by itself, but
the surface winds are just like a
wheel of a car.

In the picture on the left, you can

see how the surface winds move
in the Oceans. This means, this
is the direction where the low
pressure systems are pushed.
Sources:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=4028
http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/images/equatormap1.gif
http://www.dicts.info/img/ud/zenith.png
http://www.newmediastudio.org/DataDiscovery/Hurr_ED_Center/Easterly_Waves/Trade_Win
ds/Trade_Winds_fig02.jpg
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Hurricanes/Images/carribean_wave.gif
http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/McGrawHill/Encyclopedia/images/CE058700F
G0010.gif