Hurricanes which hit the East Coast

[JC380]

Why do hurricanes that hit the East Coast always look like this:





How come they don't look like hurricanes which hit the Gulf Coast or Mexico? Do the jet stream and cooler waters have something to do with their weird shape or is it something else?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I've always wonder about this.

[RL3AO]

As the storms move north they start to interact with the jet stream/through to the west (which is whats causing them to turn north). The storm gains extratropical characteristics which include the windfield expanding and spreading out. You see the clouds develop on the west/north side because the jetstream/trough is creating a favorable environment for lift ahead of it. This causes clouds and storms to develop.

Hopefully that make sense and if it doesn't someone else will probably come along with fancy graphics to help.

[CrazyC83]

If satellite images existed of pre-satellite era storms, I think even the 1938 hurricane and Hurricane Hazel would look like "crap" on satellite at landfall. If I recall data based on land observations, Carol (1954) was the most "tropical" of all the northern hurricanes, probably because of its small size, fast movement and Gulf Stream track (basically, that is the NE US analog to 2003's Juan in Nova Scotia).

[Ptarmigan]

Jet stream interaction and undergoing extratropical transition. Frontal or troughs can cause it. I have seen this happen in the Gulf of Mexico, usually late in the season. Also, they tend to get larger.

Frontal

If satellite images existed of pre-satellite era storms, I think even the 1938 hurricane and Hurricane Hazel would look like "crap" on satellite at landfall. If I recall data based on land observations, Carol (1954) was the most "tropical" of all the northern hurricanes, probably because of its small size, fast movement and Gulf Stream track (basically, that is the NE US analog to 2003's Juan in Nova Scotia).

I can picture any of those East Coast storms in the past looking like that on satellite including 1903 Vagabond Hurricane and 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane.

[galaxy401]

I think the 1938 hurricane would of looked more tropical and non frontal than the other storms due to it heading towards the NE very fast, it didn't have a lot of time to weaken.