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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Harvey near peak intensity prior to landfall in southern Texas late on August 25

Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone on record, inflicting $125 billion (2017 USD) in damage, primarily from catastrophic rainfall-triggered flooding in the Houston metropolitan area and Southeast Texas; this made the storm the costliest natural disaster recorded in Texas at the time. It was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12-year span in which no hurricanes made landfall at the intensity of a major hurricane throughout the country. In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain as the system slowly meandered over eastern Texas and adjacent waters, causing unprecedented flooding. With peak accumulations of 60.58 in (1,539 mm), in Nederland, Texas, Harvey was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States. The resulting floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, which displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.

The eighth named storm, third hurricane, and first major hurricane of the extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey developed from a tropical wave to the east of the Lesser Antilles, reaching tropical storm status on August 17. The storm crossed through the Windward Islands on the following day, making landfall on the southern end of Barbados and a second landfall on Saint Vincent. Upon entering the Caribbean, Harvey began to weaken due to moderate wind shear, and degenerated into a tropical wave north of Colombia, late on August 19. The remnants were monitored for regeneration as it continued west-northwestward across the Caribbean and the Yucatán Peninsula, before redeveloping over the Bay of Campeche on August 23. Harvey then began to rapidly intensify on August 24, regaining tropical storm status and becoming a hurricane later that day. (Full article...)

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Track of Hurricane Ivan, according to the Saffir-Simpson scale

The meteorological history of Hurricane Ivan, the longest tracked tropical cyclone of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, lasted from late August through late September. The hurricane developed from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on August 31. Tracking westward due to a ridge, favorable conditions allowed it to develop into Tropical Depression Nine on September 2 in the deep tropical Atlantic Ocean. The cyclone gradually intensified until September 5, when it underwent rapid deepening and reached Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; at the time Ivan was the southernmost major North Atlantic hurricane on record.

Ivan quickly weakened due to dry air, but it gradually reorganized, passing just south of Grenada as a major hurricane on September 7. The hurricane attained Category 5 status in the central Caribbean Sea. Over the subsequent days its intensity fluctuated largely due to eyewall replacement cycles, and Ivan passed just south of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and western Cuba with winds at or slightly below Category 5 status. Turning northward and encountering unfavorable conditions, Ivan gradually weakened before making landfall just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama on September 16 with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). The cyclone quickly weakened to tropical depression status as it turned to the northeast, and Ivan transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 18. (Full article...)

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Cyclone Zoe was near its record peak intensity on late December 27, 2002 when this image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. Cyclone Zoe was one of the most intense tropical cyclones ever observed in the South West Pacific Ocean.

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The 1988 Pacific hurricane season was the least active Pacific hurricane season since 1981. It officially began May 15, in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, in the central Pacific and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The first named storm, Tropical Storm Aletta, formed on June 16, and the last-named storm, Tropical Storm Miriam, was previously named Hurricane Joan in the Atlantic Ocean before crossing Central America and re-emerging in the eastern Pacific; Miriam continued westward and dissipated on November 2.

The season produced 23 tropical depressions, of which 15 attained tropical storm status. Seven storms reached hurricane status, three of which became major hurricanes. The strongest storm of the season, Hurricane Hector, formed on July 30 to the south of Mexico and reached peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h)—Category 4 status—before dissipating over open waters on August 9; Hector was never a threat to land. Tropical Storm Gilma was the only cyclone in the season to make landfall, crossing the Hawaiian Islands, although there were numerous near-misses. Gilma's Hawaiian landfall was unusual, but not unprecedented. There were also two systems that successfully crossed over from the Atlantic: the aforementioned Joan / Miriam and Hurricane Debby, which became Tropical Depression Seventeen-E, making the 1988 season the first on record in which more than one tropical cyclone has crossed between the Atlantic and Pacific basins intact. Three systems caused deaths: Tropical Storm Aletta caused one death in southwestern Mexico, Hurricane Uleki caused two drownings off the coast of Oahu as it passed by the Hawaiian Islands, and Hurricane Kristy caused 21 deaths in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chipas. (Full article...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2024): Tropical Storm Nadine

East and Central Pacific (2024): No active systems

West Pacific (2024): No active systems

North Indian Ocean (2024): No active systems

Mediterranean (2024–25): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2024–25): No active systems

Australian region (2024–25): No active systems

South Pacific (2024–25): No active systems

South Atlantic (2024–25): No active systems

Last updated: 06:04, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

October 18

1970 - Typhoon Kate struck Mindanao in the Philippines, killing 631 people.
1985 - Typhoon Dot made landfall on Luzon in the Philippines. Dot killed 90 people and caused more than $80 million in damage.
2010 - Typhoon Megi (pictured) struck Luzon in the Philippines at peak intensity, and it later affected Taiwan with heavy rainfall, causing 69 deaths.

October 19

1994 - Typhoon Teresa reaches peak intensity only as a Category 1 typhoon. Teresa killed a total of 14 and caused damages of $67.4 million.
2005 - Hurricane Wilma (pictured) became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a central pressure of 882 hPa (mbar) to the east of the Yucatán Peninsula. Damages from Wilma were recorded nearly at $30 billion.

October 20

1983 - Hurricane Tico made landfall in Mexico near the city of Mazatlán. Tico killed at least nine people and was responsible for $66 million of damage.
1986 - Hurricane Roslyn weakens from a Category 4 hurricane as it re-curves towards Mexico.
2004 - Typhoon Tokage (pictured) makes landfall over in Japan just before it became extratropical which caused about $3 billion in damages.

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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 Cyclone Freddy (track pictured) in 2023 was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone worldwide?
…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 Hurricane Otis (pictured) in 2023 was the first Pacific hurricane to make landfall at Category 5 intensity and surpassed Hurricane Patricia as the strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record?

Did you know archive

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

Image 1Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 2The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 3Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 4An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 5Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 6
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 7The 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 8An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 9Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 10Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 11Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 12Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 13
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 14Flooding 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 15Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 16Broken 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 17Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 18
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 19
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 20The 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 21A 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 22
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 23
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 24Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 25Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 26
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 27The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 28A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 292017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 30Tropical 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 31The 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 32All 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 33Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 34Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)

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

The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual hurricane season in the north Atlantic Ocean. For the third year in a row there were 19 named storms. The season officially began on June 1, 2012, and ended on November 30, 2012, dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin. Surprisingly, two preseason storms formed: Alberto on May 19, and Beryl on May 26. This was the first such occurrence since the 1951 season. The final storm to dissipate (second-to-last to become a named storm) was Sandy, on October 29. Altogether, ten storms became hurricanes, of which two intensified into major hurricanes.

Storm impact during the season was widespread and ruinous, with the most significant storms in term of loss of life and damage being hurricanes Isaac and Sandy. A Category 1 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, Isaac was a large system that moved ashore the coast of Louisiana on August 12; the storm resulted in 41 deaths overall. Sandy, the second and final major hurricane of the season, was the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, with a wind diameter of more than 1,100 mi (1,800 km). The system moved ashore the southern coast of New Jersey as an extratropical cyclone in late October. During its duration as a tropical cyclone, Sandy caused at least $68 billion (2012 USD) in damage and 285 fatalities. Sandy is the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina during the 2005 season. (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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