<P> Though a tropical cyclone typically moves from east to west in the tropics, its track may shift poleward and eastward either as it moves west of the subtropical ridge axis or else if it interacts with the mid-latitude flow, such as the jet stream or an extratropical cyclone . This motion, termed "recurvature", commonly occurs near the western edge of the major ocean basins, where the jet stream typically has a poleward component and extratropical cyclones are common . An example of tropical cyclone recurvature was Typhoon Ioke in 2006 . </P> <P> The landfall of a tropical cyclone occurs when a storm's surface center moves over a coastline . Storm conditions may be experienced on the coast and inland hours before landfall; in fact, a tropical cyclone can launch its strongest winds over land, yet not make landfall . NOAA uses the term "direct hit" to describe when a location (on the left side of the eye) falls within the radius of maximum winds (or twice that radius if on the right side), whether or not the hurricane's eye made landfall . </P> <P> A tropical cyclone can cease to have tropical characteristics in several different ways . One such way is if it moves over land, thus depriving it of the warm water it needs to power itself, quickly losing strength . Most strong storms lose their strength very rapidly after landfall and become disorganized areas of low pressure within a day or two, or evolve into extratropical cyclones . There is a chance a tropical cyclone could regenerate if it managed to get back over open warm water, such as with Hurricane Ivan . If it remains over mountains for even a short time, weakening will accelerate . Many storm fatalities occur in mountainous terrain, when diminishing cyclones unleash their moisture as torrential rainfall . This rainfall may lead to deadly floods and mudslides, as was the case with Hurricane Mitch around Honduras in October 1998 . Without warm surface water, the storm cannot survive . </P> <P> A tropical cyclone can dissipate when it moves over waters significantly below 26.5 ° C (79.7 ° F). This will cause the storm to lose its tropical characteristics, such as a warm core with thunderstorms near the center, and become a remnant low - pressure area . These remnant systems may persist for up to several days before losing their identity . This dissipation mechanism is most common in the eastern North Pacific . Weakening or dissipation can occur if it experiences vertical wind shear, causing the convection and heat engine to move away from the center; this normally ceases development of a tropical cyclone . In addition, its interaction with the main belt of the Westerlies, by means of merging with a nearby frontal zone, can cause tropical cyclones to evolve into extratropical cyclones . This transition can take 1--3 days . Even after a tropical cyclone is said to be extratropical or dissipated, it can still have tropical storm force (or occasionally hurricane / typhoon force) winds and drop several inches of rainfall . In the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, such tropical - derived cyclones of higher latitudes can be violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane or typhoon - force wind speeds when they reach the west coast of North America . These phenomena can also affect Europe, where they are known as European windstorms; Hurricane Iris's extratropical remnants are an example of such a windstorm from 1995 . A cyclone can also merge with another area of low pressure, becoming a larger area of low pressure . This can strengthen the resultant system, although it may no longer be a tropical cyclone . Studies in the 2000s have given rise to the hypothesis that large amounts of dust reduce the strength of tropical cyclones . </P>

Which refers to tropical cyclones in the western north pacific