Portal:Tropical cyclones

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The Tropical Cyclones Portal

P:TC

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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Beryl near peak intensity well to the east of the Lesser Antilles on July 6

Hurricane Beryl was a fast-moving and long-lived tropical cyclone that formed in the main development region. The second named storm and first hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl formed from a vigorous tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on July 1. The wave quickly organized into a tropical depression over the central Atlantic Ocean on July 4. Rapid intensification took place and the depression quickly became a tropical storm at 00:00 UTC the next day. Just less than 15 hours later, on July 6, Beryl strengthened into the first hurricane of the season, reaching its peak intensity on July 6. Increasingly unfavorable conditions caused a rapid deterioration of the cyclone shortly after its peak, with Beryl falling to tropical storm status on the next day, as it began to accelerate towards the Caribbean. Late on July 8, it degenerated into a tropical wave shortly before reaching the Lesser Antilles. The remnants were monitored for several days, although they failed to organize significantly until July 14, when it regenerated into a subtropical storm, six days after it lost tropical characteristics. However, the newly reformed storm quickly lost convection, and it degenerated into a remnant low early on July 16, while situated over the Gulf Stream. Beryl subsequently dissipated on the next day.

Many places in Beryl's track were still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria, which hit the Eastern Caribbean in September 2017; structures were left deficient to strong winds. Beryl prompted multiple islands in the Lesser Antilles to issue warnings and watches, including a hurricane watch as it was initially expected to pass through the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe as a hurricane. The storm weakened faster than expected and Beryl degenerated into a tropical wave before it reached the islands, though minimal effects were still felt across the eastern Caribbean. Beryl's remnants caused flash flooding and landslides across the island of Puerto Rico, and several people were trapped in their houses by floodwaters; approximately 47,000 lost power on the island. In the Dominican Republic, 9 in (230 mm) of rain caused rivers to overflow, and more than 130,000 customers lost power. Minor impacts were reported in the Lucayan Archipelago, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada. Overall damage was estimated to be in the millions, and no fatalities were reported. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Warning Offices and their areas of responsibility, circa 1959

The history of Atlantic tropical cyclone warnings details the progress of tropical cyclone warnings in the North Atlantic Ocean. The first service was set up in the 1870s from Cuba with the work of Father Benito Viñes. After his death, hurricane warning services were assumed by the US Army Signal Corps and United States Weather Bureau over the next few decades, first based in Jamaica and Cuba before shifting to Washington, D.C. The central office in Washington, which would evolve into the National Meteorological Center and the Weather Prediction Center, assumed the responsibilities by the early 20th century. This responsibility passed to regional hurricane offices in 1935, and the concept of the Atlantic hurricane season was established to keep a vigilant lookout for tropical cyclones during certain times of the year. Hurricane advisories issued every 12 hours by the regional hurricane offices began at this time.

The National Hurricane Center became a tropical cyclone warning center in 1956 and assumed many of the functions it has today by 1965. The National Hurricane Research Project, begun in the 1950s, used aircraft to study tropical cyclones and carry out experiments on mature hurricanes through its Stormfury project. Forecasts within the hurricane advisories were issued one day into the future in 1954 before being extended to two days into the future in 1961, three days into the future in 1964, and five days into the future in 2001. From the 1960s through the 1980s, work from the various regional hurricane offices was consolidated into the National Hurricane Center. Its name was changed to the Tropical Prediction Center in 1995, before reassuming its National Hurricane Center name in 2010. Tropical cyclone forecasting is done nowadays using statistical methods based on tropical cyclone climatology, as well as methods of numerical weather prediction where computers use mathematical equations of motion to determine their movement. (Full article...)

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Tents are distributed by FEMA to families on Guam as temporary shelter while repairing damages to their homes from Typhoon Pongsona in December 2002.

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The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth consecutive above-average and damaging season dating back to 2016. The season featured eighteen named storms, however, many storms were weak and short-lived, especially towards the end of the season. Six of those named storms achieved hurricane status, while three intensified into major hurricanes. Two storms became Category 5 hurricanes, marking the fourth consecutive season with at least one Category 5 hurricane, the third consecutive season to feature at least one storm making landfall at Category 5 intensity, and the seventh on record to have multiple tropical cyclones reaching Category 5 strength. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin and are adopted by convention. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the formation of Subtropical Storm Andrea on May 20, making this the fifth consecutive year in which a tropical or subtropical cyclone developed outside of the official season.

The season's first hurricane, Barry, formed in mid-July in the northern Gulf of Mexico and struck Louisiana. Barry caused two deaths and produced flooding in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, with damage totaling about $600 million (2019 USD). Hurricane Dorian, the most intense tropical cyclone of the season, proved to be the costliest natural disaster in the history of the Bahamas, becoming the strongest hurricane to strike the country. Overall, Dorian caused about $5.1 billion in damage and 84 fatalities, mostly in the Bahamas. The 2019 season was the record fourth consecutive season to feature at least one Category 5 hurricane. Tropical Storm Fernand left flooding in Mexico, with approximately $11.3 million in damage and one death. Hurricane Humberto produced extensive damage in Bermuda, totaling at least $25 million. (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): No active systems

North Indian Ocean (2024): No active systems

Mediterranean (2023–24): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2023–24): Moderate Tropical Storm Hidaya

Australian region (2023–24): No active systems

South Pacific (2023–24): No active systems

South Atlantic (2023–24): No active systems

Last updated: 02:33, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

May 3

2019 - Cyclone Fani (pictured) struck eastern India. It killed 89 people and left US$8.9 billion in damage.

May 4

1982 - A tropical cyclone struck southern Burma, where it killed five people.
2009 - Typhoon Kujira (pictured) reaches peak strength as a Category 4 typhoon, after killing 28 people and causing P1.25 million (US$27 million) in damage in the Philippines.

May 5, 1974 - Typhoon Carla (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 150 km/h (90 mph) winds to the east of Iwo Jima. Carla had previously caused heavy damage to crops in the Northern Mariana Islands.

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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

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

Image 1Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 2
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 3The 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 4Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 5
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 6The 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 7Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 8Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9All 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 102017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 11Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 12Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 13An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
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 15
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 16Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 17The 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 18An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 19
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 20
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 21
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 22The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 23
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 24Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 25Tropical 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 26Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 27Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 28A 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 29Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 30Broken 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 31A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 32The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 33Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018

Featured list - show another

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

This is a list of all Pacific typhoons that have had their names retired from the international list of tropical cyclone names used in the Western Pacific Ocean. Since tropical cyclones started to be named in the basin after World War II a total of 77 typhoon names have been retired. Those typhoons that have their names retired tend to be exceptionally destructive storms. Several names were removed or altered naming list for various reasons other than retirement. Collectively, the typhoons with retired names have caused over $108 billion in damage (2024 USD), as well as over 12,000 deaths. (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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