Named after Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara (1884–1950), the Fujiwhara effect is what happens when two hurricanes come close enough to each other that they begin to rotate around a common central point. For this to occur, the two storms generally need to come to within 300 to 900 miles (500 to 1,500 kilometers) of each other; they also need to be of about equal strength to remain in this partnered dance, or else the stronger storm tends to swallow up the smaller storm.