Portal:Tropical cyclones

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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.

Selected named cyclone - show another

Pam nearing peak intensity over Vanuatu, on 13 March

Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people died either directly or indirectly as a result of Pam with many others injured. The storm's impacts were also felt, albeit to a lesser extent, on other islands in the South Pacific, most notably the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and New Zealand. Pam is the third most intense storm of the South Pacific Ocean according to pressure, after Winston of 2016 and Zoe of 2002. It is also the second most intense tropical cyclone in 2015, only behind Hurricane Patricia. In addition, Pam is tied with Orson, Monica, Marcus and Fantala for having the second strongest ten-minute maximum sustained winds in the Southern Hemisphere. Thousands of homes, schools and buildings were damaged or destroyed, with an estimated 3,300 people displaced as a result.

Pam formed on 6 March, east of the Solomon Islands and tracked slowly in a generally southward direction, slowly intensifying as it did so. Two days later, the disturbance reached tropical cyclone intensity and, over subsequent days, Pam gradually strengthened before reaching Category 5 cyclone status on both the Australian and Saffir–Simpson scales on 12 March. The next day, Pam's sustained winds peaked at 250 km/h (155 mph) as the storm moved through Vanuatu, passing near several constituent islands and making direct hits on others. On 14 March, Pam's winds began to slowly weaken, but its pressure dropped further to a minimum of 896 mbar (hPa; 26.46 inHg) before rising shortly afterwards. Over the next few days, the cyclone's weakening accelerated as it moved poleward. On 15 March, Pam passed northeast of New Zealand before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone that same day. (Full article...)

List of selected named cyclones

Selected article - show another

Deep Depression ARB 02

Deep Depression ARB 02 was a weak yet costly tropical cyclone which caused extensive damage and loss of life in Yemen. The sixth tropical cyclone and third deep depression of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, ARB 02 formed in the Arabian Sea on October 19 from the same broader system which would spawn Moderate Tropical Storm Asma in the southern Indian Ocean around that time. Moving generally westward, the depression failed to intensify further, reaching maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h (35 mph). It would weaken, becoming a remnant low on October 23. Later that day, the system's remnants would make landfall near Ash Shihr in eastern Yemen.

The storm sent a plume of moisture throughout the Arabian Peninsula, contributing to dust storms as far north as Iraq. However, the effects were most severe in Yemen, becoming the second-worst natural disaster in the country after deadly floods in 1996. The storm dropped heavy rainfall in a normally arid region, reaching around 91 mm (3.6 in), which caused flash flooding in valleys after waterways were unable to contain the approximately 2 billion km³ (528 billion gallons) of water that fell. Poor drainage practices and an invasive species of weed contributed to the floods, which damaged or destroyed 6,505 houses, leaving about 25,000 people homeless. The floods killed 180 people and severely disrupted the livelihoods of about 700,000 residents of Hadhramaut and Al Mahrah governorates, mostly farmers whose fields were washed away. Some of the buildings at the Shibam UNESCO World Heritage Site collapsed due to the floods. Overall damage was estimated at US$874.8 million, although residual losses from damaged infrastructure were estimated to cost an additional US$726.9 million. The overall economic impact of the storm was therefore estimated at US$1.638 billion, equating to roughly 6% of the country's gross domestic product. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected image - show another

Hurricane Alice is the only known Atlantic hurricane to span two calendar years, and one of only two named tropical cyclones to do so in the North Atlantic basin. This image of the PPI scope of SPS-6 radar on the USS MIDWAY shows the rare January hurricane northeast of British Virgin Islands.

More selected images

Selected season - show another

The 2000–01 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a fairly quiet season with only five named storms, although there was an additional unnamed tropical storm and two subtropical cyclones with gale-force winds. It started early, with a tropical disturbance forming on August 1 – the first day of the cyclone year. However, the first named storm, Ando, was not named until January 2, which at the time was the 4th latest on record. Ando would become the most intense cyclone of the year, reaching peak winds of 195 km/h (121 mph) according to the Météo-France office (MFR) on Réunion, the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. The agency tracked storms south of the equator and west of 90°E to the east coast of Africa.

In addition to being the strongest storm, Cyclone Ando was one of two deadly storms during the season. It passed about 205 km (127 mi) west of Réunion, producing 1,255 mm (49.4 in) of rainfall in the mountainous peaks. The rains led to flooding that killed two people. Ando was one of three storms to attain tropical cyclone status – winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph) – in the month of January. The others were Bindu, which alternated its trajectory several times over open waters, and Charly, which rapidly weakened after encountering hostile wind shear. The next storm to form was Tropical Cyclone Dera, which intensified near Mozambique in early March and killed two people there due to flooding rains. It later moved southward through the Mozambique Channel, maintaining its intensity unusually far to the south before becoming extratropical. There was a month of inactivity in March, including three weeks in which there were no storms worldwide, the first such instance. Subsequently, two storms formed in early April; one was a small, unnamed tropical storm, and the other was Severe Tropical Storm Evariste, which brought light rainfall to two islands. The season ended with an unusual subtropical storm forming rapidly in the southern Mozambique Channel on June 19, the only such storm to form in that body of water in the month. It became the strongest storm on record for so late in the season, although it weakened without affecting land, dissipating on June 24.

(Full article...)

List of selected seasons

edit

Related portals

edit

Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2025): No active systems

East and Central Pacific (2025): No active systems

West Pacific (2025): No active systems

North Indian Ocean (2025): No active systems

Mediterranean (2024–25): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2024–25): Moderate Tropical Storm Elvis; Tropical Disturbance 07

Australian region (2024–25): No active systems

South Pacific (2024–25): No active systems

South Atlantic (2024–25): No active systems

Last updated: 11:36, 29 January 2025 (UTC)

edit

Tropical cyclone anniversaries

January 29

1984 - Tropical Storm Domoina struck southeastern Mozambique and later moved into South Africa. Along its path, the storm killed 242 people and left US$200 million in damage.
1989 - Cyclone Firinga (pictured) passed very close to Réunion at its peak intensity with 165 km/h (105 mph) winds, causing $157 million in damage and 10 deaths.

January 30

1991 - A cargo ship went missing in the south-west Indian Ocean during Cyclone Bella, with 36 people onboard.
1992 - Hurricane Ekeka (pictured) reached hurricane strength to the south of Hawaii, at a latitude of 6° N. This makes Ekeka the most southerly hurricane on record, in either the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean.
2016 - Cyclone Stan makes landfall over Western Australia. Stan's remnants caused record breaking rainfall over South Australia.

January 31

1994 - Cyclone Geralda (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 270 km/h (165 mph) winds. Geralda struck Madagascar soon after, killing 200 and leaving half a million people homeless.
2021 - Cyclone Ana impacts Fiji, killing only 1 person and left 5 people missing. It was one of three cyclones to impact Fiji within January of 2021.

edit

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 recorded?
…that the typhoons of 2024—Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi, and Man-yi (pictured)—made history as the first recorded instance since 1951 of four tropical cyclones coexisting in November?
…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

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 2Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 3Tropical 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 4
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 5The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 6
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 7
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 8
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 9A 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 10The 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 11A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 12The 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 13
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 14Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
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 17Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 18Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 19An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 20Flooding 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 21All 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 22Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 23The 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 24Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 25
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 26Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 27Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 282017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 29Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 30Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 31Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 32Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 33An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 34The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)

Featured list - show another

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

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of number of named storms. Additionally, it was an above-average season for tropical cyclones for the fifth consecutive year. The season officially began on June 1, 2020, and ended on November 30, 2020. These dates, adopted by convention, historically delimit the period each year when most Atlantic tropical systems form. However, storm formation is possible at any time of the year, as was the case this season, when its first two named storms, Tropical Storm Arthur and Tropical Storm Bertha, formed on May 16 and May 27, respectively. The final storm, Hurricane Iota, dissipated on November 18.

Altogether, the season produced 31 tropical or subtropical cyclones, all but one of which became a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 became hurricanes, and seven further intensified into major hurricanes. It was the second and final season to use the Greek letter storm naming system, the first being 2005. Hurricane Laura produced catastrophic storm surge levels, heavy rainfall, and spawned over a dozen tornadoes after striking Louisiana on August 27 with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). The storm was responsible for 81 deaths and it caused over US$19 billion in damage across the Greater Antilles and the Southern United States. Causing significant late-season loss of life and widespread destruction were November hurricanes Eta and Iota, which made landfall in Central America as Category 4 storms just two weeks apart. The storms left a toll of 184 deaths and 110 missing across the region, and thousands of families lost their homes and livelihoods. In March 2021, the names Laura, Eta and Iota were retired from reuse in the North Atlantic by the World Meteorological Organization due to the extraordinary amount of damage and number of fatalities they caused. (Full article...)

List of Featured lists

Topics

edit

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

edit

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.

edit