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.

Selected named cyclone - show another

Hurricane Pali at peak intensity, over the Central Pacific on January 13

Hurricane Pali was the earliest-forming Pacific hurricane on record, being the first Pacific hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Ekeka of 1992. The first tropical cyclone of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season, Pali originated as an area of low pressure within a persistent trough, near the equator on January 6, 2016. Deep convection gradually built up around the center of the disturbance as the system curved northward, before it organized into a tropical depression on the next day, making the system the earliest recorded tropical cyclone in the Pacific hurricane basin. The system quickly intensified into a tropical storm, resulting in it being named Pali. During the next few days, Pali slowly moved northward while slowly curving towards the west, strengthening somewhat before weakening due to the presence of wind shear. On January 10, Pali slowly turned eastward and proceeded to re-strengthen as wind shear diminished.

On January 12, Pali strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale (SSWHS) while curving towards the south. The next day, Pali reached its peak intensity as a Category 2 hurricane, with 1-minute maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 978 mbar (hPa; 28.88 inHg). Afterward, Pali quickly began to weaken, as the storm encountered stronger wind shear, with the storm weakening into a Category 1 hurricane several hours later, before weakening into a tropical storm later that day. On January 14, Pali weakened into a tropical depression before degenerating into a remnant low the next day, since conditions became increasingly hostile. Later that day, Pali's remnants dissipated near the same location where they had formed roughly a week ago. Pali formed and tracked near the equator, forming at a latitude of 3.3°N and tracking as low as 2.6°N as a tropical depression. This made Pali the second-lowest latitude tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere at the time, which was extremely unusual, given the unfavorable conditions that are usually in place around the equator. (Full article...)

List of selected named cyclones

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Hurricane Dorian between the islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas on August 28

Hurricane Dorian caused relatively minor damage across the eastern Caribbean in late August 2019. Originating from a westward moving tropical wave, Dorian organized into a tropical cyclone on August 24 and reached the Lesser Antilles on August 26 as a tropical storm. Turning northwest, the system unexpectedly intensified to a hurricane as it struck the Virgin Islands on August 27. Antecedent to the storm's arrival, local governments across the archipelago issued tropical cyclone warnings and watches, readied public shelters, closed airports, and placed emergency crews on standby. Many of the threatened islands were still reeling from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September 2017 and fears arose over embattled power grids. In the areas first affected, impacts were limited to gusty winds and modest rainfall. Effects were greater in the Virgin Islands where wind gusts reached 111 mph (179 km/h); however, damage was light. Multiple landslides occurred across the islands and Puerto Rico with only a handful of structures suffering damage. One person died in Puerto Rico while preparing for the storm. (Full article...)

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Typhoon Man-yi (04W) off the coast of Taiwan, near peak intensity, as seen from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite on July 12, 2007. Man-Yi later weakened and struck Japan, causing three casualties.

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The 2020 Pacific hurricane season was a near average Pacific hurricane season in terms of named storms, featuring 17 (including one unnamed tropical storm which was operationally classified as a tropical depression), but well below average season for hurricanes and major hurricanes, with only 4 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes forming. Additionally, no tropical cyclones formed in the Central Pacific basin for the first time since 2017. The season officially began on May 15 in the East Pacific Ocean (east of 140°W), and on June 1 in the Central Pacific (from 140°W to the International Date Line, north of the equator; they both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the respective regions. However, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year, as illustrated in 2020 by the formation of the season's first system, Tropical Depression One-E, on April 25. This was the earliest formation of a tropical cyclone on record in the eastern Pacific basin proper. The final system of the season was Tropical Storm Polo, which dissipated on November 19.

The most significant storms of the season were Tropical Storm Amanda and Hurricane Genevieve. Amanda developed near Central America in late May and struck Guatemala, causing widespread damage in neighboring El Salvador and killing 40 people amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the latter country. Genevieve passed closely to the tip of the Baja California Peninsula in August, bringing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall, killing six and causing an estimated $50 million in damage. Otherwise, impact from other storms was minimal. In late July, Hurricane Douglas made an extremely close pass to Hawaii, with its weak southern eyewall crossing Oahu, causing minor effects. The remnant moisture of Tropical Storm Fausto brought dry thunderstorms and lightning to Northern California, sparking hundreds of fires that contributed to the state's worst fire season in recorded history, and the remnants of Genevieve dropped heavy rainfall in Arizona and Southern California. Tropical Storm Hernan moved very near the coast of southwestern Mexico, causing an additional fatality and several millions of dollars worth of damage. Collectively, the tropical cyclones of this season caused about US$267.91 million in damage and 47 deaths.

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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 (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: 22:43, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

December 1

1960 - Typhoon Ophelia reached its peak intensity with 250 km/h (155 mph) winds just after passing over the Caroline Islands. Many of the islands were severely flooded.
2004 - Typhoon Nanmadol (pictured), a quick-paced storm, reaches its peak intensity as a Category 4 super typhoon just before making landfall over northern Philippines. Nanmadol killed 77 people in total and damaged US$60.8 million of infrastructure and agriculture.

December 2

2005 - Hurricane Epsilon (pictured) attained hurricane status in the central Atlantic Ocean, becoming the final hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
2019 - Typhoon Kammuri reaches Category 4 typhoon intensity while making landfall over the Bicol Region, Philippines. 17 people were killed by the typhoon.

December 3

2012 - Typhoon Bopha (pictured) made landfall in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao killing around 2,000 people and causing over $1 billion in damage.

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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 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 1The 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 2Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 3Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 4Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 5Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 6Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 72017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 8Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 10Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 11
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 12Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 13
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 14
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 15Broken 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 16The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 17
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 18Tropical 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 19Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
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 22
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 23An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 24The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 25A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 26
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 27Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (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 response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 30The 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 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 32Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 33
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 34Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (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 list of United States hurricanes includes all tropical cyclones officially recorded to have produced sustained winds of greater than 74 mph (119 km/h) in the United States, which is the minimum threshold for hurricane intensity. The list, which is sorted by U.S. state, begins in 1851 with the start of the official Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT), as provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division. Since 1851, a total of 307 North Atlantic hurricanes produced hurricane-force winds in 19 states along the Atlantic coast. Some of these storms may not have made a direct landfall (i.e. remained just offshore) while producing hurricane-force winds on land; some of them may have weakened to a tropical storm or became extratropical before landfall but produced hurricane conditions on land while still a hurricane and some of them made landfall in an adjacent state but produced hurricane conditions over multiple states. This list does not include storms that only produced tropical storm conditions on land in the United States.

Additionally, three Pacific hurricanes struck Hawaii, and one Pacific tropical cyclone brought hurricane-force winds to California. The tables list hurricanes by category on the Saffir–Simpson scale, based on winds that occurred in each state. (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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