Is it unusual for a hurricane to track to the west like Fay is doing?

Question

I know it tracks west to here from Africa, but don't hurricanes usually track north and northeasterly once they hit land?

Answer 1

The short answer is "It depends."  Yes, many hurricanes follow the warm water of the Gulf Stream up the East Coast, but it is also common for them to stay in the gulf and track west.  Hurricanes hit all the islands of the Caribbean as well as Central America on a regular basis.

Answer 2

Fay seems like it's stuck just below the interface between the tropical easterlies (between the equator and ~30 degrees, why hurricanes move to the west from the east) and the prevailing westerlies (why our weather moves to the east from the west) above 30 degrees north latitude.

yes, if it ducks a little south, it might just track along the Florida panhandle.

Answer 3

Not unusual at the latitude the Fay is at right now.  Many times a low pressure system will pass north of these tropical systems and initially pull the tropical systems northward.  But if the low pressure system isn't strong enough or far enough to the south, it will leave the tropical system behind.  Then a ridge will develop to the north of the tropical system, causing the tropical system to slow, then turn westward again.  That is what is going on with Fay.