Portal:Tropical cyclones

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The Tropical Cyclones Portal

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A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center, a closed low-level circulation and a spiral arrangement of numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rainfall. Tropical cyclones feed on the heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such as Nor'easters, European windstorms and polar lows, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems. Most tropical cyclones originate in the doldrums, approximately ten degrees from the Equator.

The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, as well as to their formation in maritime tropical air masses. The term "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with anticlockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere. Depending on its location and intensity, a tropical cyclone may be referred to by names such as "hurricane", "typhoon", "tropical storm", "cyclonic storm", "tropical depression" or simply "cyclone".

Types of cyclone: 1. A "Typhoon" is a tropical cyclone located in the North-west Pacific Ocean which has the most cyclonic activity and storms occur year-round. 2. A "Hurricane" is also a tropical cyclone located at the North Atlantic Ocean or North-east Pacific Ocean which have an average storm activity and storms typically form between May 15 and November 30. 3. A "Cyclone" is a tropical cyclone that occurs in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

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Typhoon Abby on August 8

Typhoon Abby, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Diding, was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone which was the second typhoon to strike Japan within a span of a few days in August 1983. First noted southeast of Guam on July 31, development of this system was initially slow to occur; it was first classified on August 5, and was upgraded into a tropical storm the next day. Intensification was rapid as Abby slowly recurved northward on August 7 and 8. After reaching peak intensity with winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) early on August 9, Abby slowly weakened, though the storm briefly re-intensified on August 11. By August 14, winds had diminished to 100 mph (160 km/h). Abby finally weakened back into a tropical storm on August 17 not long after making landfall in Japan. The following day, Abby completed the transition to an extratropical cyclone after moving through central Japan. However, meteorologists continued monitoring the storm for six more days.

In the Philippines, heavy rainfall resulted in a landslide that crushed a house in Manila, killing three people. Two others drowned due to rough seas. Typhoon Abby also brought several consecutive days of rain to southern and central Japan, resulting in widespread damage. Commercial traffic by land, sea, and air was also paralyzed by the cyclone, stranding 25,900. Moreover, over 10,000 fishing boats took refuge in harbors. Around 3,400 homes were flooded and 24 homes were either damaged or destroyed. Additionally, 89 roads were also damaged. About a dozen people were injured during a flash flood that destroyed three houses. Three more dwellings were washed away when a river overflowed its banks. Nationwide, 27 people were hurt and two persons were killed. One person was listed as missing. (Full article...)

List of selected named cyclones

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The storm at peak intensity near the Azores on 4 October

The 2005 Azores subtropical storm was the 19th nameable storm and only subtropical storm of the extremely active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was not named by the National Hurricane Center as it was operationally classified as an extratropical low. It developed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, an unusual region for late-season tropical cyclogenesis. Nonetheless, the system was able to generate a well-defined centre convecting around a warm core on 4 October. The system was short-lived, crossing over the Azores later on 4 October before becoming extratropical again on 5 October. No damages or fatalities were reported during that time. Its remnants were soon absorbed into a cold front. That system went on to become Hurricane Vince, which affected the Iberian Peninsula.

The subtropical nature of this unnamed system was determined several months after the fact, while the National Hurricane Center was performing its annual review of the season. Upon reclassification, the storm was entered into HURDAT, the official hurricane database. (Full article...)

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Tropical Storm Zeta on January 4, 2006. At that time, Zeta still had sustained winds of around 100 kilometers per hour (63 miles per hour), a steady strength the storm had maintained for several days, with a very slight increase in power. After the previous record-holding storm season of 1933, which saw 21 named storms, weather forecasters established a convention of using just 21 letters of the alphabet (the last letter being W) to begin the names of Atlantic tropical storms. After Hurricane Wilma in October 2005, forecasters turned to the Greek alphabet. Zeta is the sixth letter of that alphabet, and this is the 27th named storm of 2005. One month after 2005’s record-breaking storm season officially ended, this storm appeared roughly 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the southwest of the Azores Islands.

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The 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was the second most active North Indian Ocean cyclone season on record in terms of cyclonic storms, the 1992 season was more active according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The season featured 12 depressions, 11 deep depressions, 8 cyclonic storms, 6 severe cyclonic storms, 6 very severe cyclonic storms, 3 extremely severe cyclonic storms, and 1 super cyclonic storm, Kyarr, the first since Cyclone Gonu in 2007. Additionally, it also became the third-costliest season recorded in the North Indian Ocean, only behind the 2020 and 2008 seasons.

The season's first named storm, Pabuk, entered the basin on January 4, becoming the earliest-forming cyclonic storm of the North Indian Ocean on record. The second cyclone of the season, Cyclone Fani, at the time was the strongest tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal by 3-minute maximum sustained wind speed until it got tied with Cyclone Mocha of 2023, and minimum barometric pressure since the 1999 Odisha cyclone, while being equal in terms of maximum 3-minute sustained wind speed to 2007's Sidr and 2013's Phailin. Further activity occurred in October, and in the latter part of that month, the first and only super cyclonic storm of the 2010s, Kyarr, formed. (Full article...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2024): No active systems

East and Central Pacific (2024): No active systems

West Pacific (2024): Tropical Depression

North Indian Ocean (2024): No active systems

Mediterranean (2023–24): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2023–24): No active systems

Australian region (2023–24): No active systems

South Pacific (2023–24): No active systems

South Atlantic (2023–24): No active systems

Last updated: 00:02, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

May 22, 1996 - Tropical Storm Cam (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 110 km/h (70 mph) while moving to the east through the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan.

May 23

1976 - Subtropical Storm One struck the Florida Panhandle, bringing heavy rainfall to the southeastern United States but only minimal damage.
2003 - Typhoon Chan-hom (pictured) reaches its maximum intensity as a Category 4 typhoon with a pressure of 940 mbar (27.76 inHg).

May 24, 1989 - Tropical Storm Cecil (pictured) made landfall in central Vietnam where it killed 52 people and left over 100,000 others homeless.

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Did you know…

…that the Joint Typhoon Warning Center considers that Typhoon Vera (pictured) of 1986 is actually two distinct systems, formed from two separated low-level circulations?
…that Hurricane Agatha (pictured) was the strongest Pacific hurricane to make landfall in Mexico in May since records began in 1949?
…that Cyclone Raquel (track pictured) travelled between the Australian and South Pacific basins between the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, spanning both seasons in both basins?
…that Cyclone Amphan (pictured) in 2020 was the first storm to be classified as a Super Cyclonic Storm in the Bay of Bengal since 1999?

Did you know archive

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various tropical cyclone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A fictitious synoptic chart of an extratropical cyclone affecting the UK and Ireland. The blue arrows between isobars indicate the direction of the wind, while the "L" symbol denotes the centre of the "low". Note the occluded, cold and warm frontal boundaries. (from Cyclone)
Image 2An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 3Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 5Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 6Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 7Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 8Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 9
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 10All but the most expensive bottles of water were sold out at this Publix supermarket before Hurricane Irma; in the week preceding the storm, water sold out soon after shipments arrived (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 11Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 12A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 13
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 14Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 15Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 16Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 17
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 18
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 19An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 20Tropical cyclones form when the energy released by the condensation of moisture in rising air causes a positive feedback loop over warm ocean waters. (from Cyclone)
Image 21Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Harvey was the wettest and second-costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 22The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 23Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 24The dangerous semicircle is the upper-right corner, with the arrow marking the direction of motion of a Northern Hemisphere storm. Note that typhoons, etc. are asymmetrical, and semicircle is a convenient misnomer. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 25The number of $1 billion Atlantic hurricanes almost doubled from the 1980s to the 2010s, and inflation-adjusted costs have increased more than elevenfold. The increases have been attributed to climate change and to greater numbers of people moving to coastal areas. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 26The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 27The initial extratropical low-pressure area forms at the location of the red dot on the image. It is usually perpendicular (at a right angle to) the leaf-like cloud formation seen on satellite during the early stage of cyclogenesis. The location of the axis of the upper level jet stream is in light blue. (from Cyclone)
Image 28
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 29Broken concrete utility pole in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017, which ranks fourth in costliest US tropical cyclones. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 30
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 31Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 32
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 332017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)

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This is a featured list, which represents some of the best list articles on English Wikipedia.

Eighty-seven tropical or subtropical cyclones have affected the state of New York since the 17th century. The state of New York is located along the East Coast of the United States, in the Northeastern portion of the country. The strongest of these storms was the 1938 New England hurricane, which struck Long Island as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Killing more than 60 people, it was also the deadliest. Tropical cyclones have affected the state primarily in September but have also hit during every month of the hurricane season, June through November. Tropical cyclones rarely make landfall on the state, although it is common for remnants of tropical cyclones to produce heavy rainfall and flooding. (Full article...)

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Related WikiProjects

WikiProject Tropical cyclones is the central point of coordination for Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones. Feel free to help!

WikiProject Weather is the main center point of coordination for Wikipedia's coverage of meteorology in general, and the parent project of WikiProject Tropical cyclones. Three other branches of WikiProject Weather in particular share significant overlaps with WikiProject Tropical cyclones:

The Non-tropical storms task force coordinates most of Wikipedia's coverage on extratropical cyclones, which tropical cyclones often transition into near the end of their lifespan.
The Floods task force takes on the scope of flooding events all over the world, with rainfall from tropical cyclones a significant factor in many of them.
WikiProject Severe weather documents the effects of extreme weather such as tornadoes, which landfalling tropical cyclones can produce.

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