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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Tropical Storm Manuel near hurricane strength on September 18

Hurricane Manuel (/ˌmæn(j)uˈɛl, ˌmɑːn-/) was a catastrophic tropical cyclone that brought widespread flooding across much of Mexico in September 2013, in conjunction with Hurricane Ingrid. The fifteenth named storm and seventh hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Manuel originated from a strong area of low pressure south of Acapulco on September 13. Within favorable conditions aloft, the storm intensified into a tropical storm as it tracked northward. The following day, Manuel curved westward and strengthened to a point just shy of hurricane intensity before making its first landfall at that intensity on September 15. Due to interaction with land, the tropical storm quickly weakened, and its center dissipated over western Mexico on September 16. However, the storm's remnants continued to track northwestward into the Gulf of California, where they reorganized into a tropical cyclone the next day. Manuel regained tropical storm status on September 18 as it began to curve northeastward. Shortly thereafter, Manuel attained Category 1 hurricane intensity, before making its final landfall just west of Culiacán at peak intensity. Over land, Manuel quickly weakened due to interaction with Mexico's high terrain, and the storm dissipated early on September 20.

Due to the impending threat of Manuel, several Mexican municipalities were put under disaster alerts. Upon making its first landfall, Manuel caused extreme flooding in southern Mexico. Property and agricultural damage as a result of the system was widespread, and roughly one million people were estimated to have been directly affected. In Guerrero, 97 people perished, including 18 in Acapulco. Seventy-one others died due to a mudslide in La Pintada. In Guerrero alone, around 30,000 homes were damaged and 46 rivers overflowed their banks. There, 20,000 persons were evacuated to shelters. Statewide, repairs to damage from the storm totaled MXN$3 billion ($230 million USD). Other impacts from Manuel spread as far east as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where 300 families were displaced. In the region, at least 11,591 homes were destroyed by the floods. Meanwhile, the nation sustained additional impacts from Atlantic Hurricane Ingrid. (Full article...)

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The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds. This measuring system was formerly known as the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, or SSHS.

To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have one-minute-average maximum sustained winds at 10 m (33 ft) above the surface of at least 74 mph (64 kn, 119 km/h; Category 1). The highest classification in the scale, Category 5, consists of storms with sustained winds of at least 157 mph (137 kn, 252 km/h). The classifications can provide some indication of the potential damage and flooding a hurricane will cause upon landfall. (Full article...)

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This is a photomosaic of the first natural color images of the Earth successfully taken from a high-altitude rocket. It image shows a large swathe of land to the south and east of the launch site and a tropical cyclone is visible over Del Rio, Texas. This image is also the first ever taken from a sufficient altitude to show the large scale structure of a storm and hints at the promise of meteorological satellites. The rocket was a US Navy sounding rocket launched at 1815 GMT on October 5, 1954 from White Sands, New Mexico and it was at an altitude of about 100 miles when this image was captured. There is a paper available describing this rocket launch and the associated imagery in the Monthly Weather Review.

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The 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season had the earliest named storm since 1992. Many storms formed in the north-east portion of the basin, and several more originated around Australia. The basin is defined as the waters of the Indian Ocean west of longitude 90°E to the coast of Africa and south of the equator. Eleven tropical storms formed, compared to an average of nine. Tropical systems were present during 73 days, which was significantly higher than the average of 58 for this basin.

Tropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Réunion. The season started on November 1, 2001, and ended on April 30, 2002; for Mauritius and the Seychelles, the season continued until May 15. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the basin; however, storms formed both before and after the designated season. The first storm was Andre, which emerged from the Australian basin as Tropical Cyclone Alex in late October. The strongest storm, Cyclone Hary, was the first very intense tropical cyclone since 2000; it hit Madagascar, where it caused lighter damage than expected but three deaths. In January, Cyclone Dina left heavy damage in the Mascarene Islands, particularly on Réunion, where it dropped 2,102 mm (82.8 in) of rainfall. The second-to-last storm was Cyclone Kesiny, which killed 33 people when it struck Madagascar in the midst of a political crisis.

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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): No active systems

Australian region (2024–25): Severe Tropical Cyclone Sean

South Pacific (2024–25): No active systems

South Atlantic (2024–25): No active systems

Last updated: 07:55, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

January 20

2002 - Cyclone Dina reached its peak intensity with winds of 215 km/h (130 mph) in the South-West Indian Ocean. It later struck Mauritius and Réunion, dropping 2,102 mm (82.8 in) of rainfall on the latter island. Dina killed 15 people along its track and left US$287 million in damage.
2009 - Cyclone Fanele (pictured) reaches peak intensity as a Category 4 tropical cyclone and makes landfall over the western area of Madagascar. Fanele killed 10 people and major damages.
2022 - Tropical Storm Ana forms in the South-West Indian Ocean, marking the latest start to a South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season in recorded history. Ana went on to cause 115 fatalities in Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique.

January 21

1918 - The 1918 Mackay cyclone hit Mackay, Queensland, Australia, when its central pressure was about 932 hPa (mbar). The storm killed 30 people.
1976 - Cyclone Danae struck northeastern Madagascar, killing 50 people across the country.
2009 - Cyclone Fanele (pictured) made landfall on western Madagascar while the country was experiencing political strife, prompting United Nations agencies to respond to storm damage.

January 22

1997 - Cyclone Pancho-Helinda reached its peak with a central pressure of 925 hPa (mbar) in the eastern Indian Ocean.
2013 - Cyclone Oswald (flooding pictured) weakened into a tropical low, but its remnants brought torrential rainfall of over 1,000 mm (39 in) to eastern Australia. The rains caused widespread flooding that left US$2.28 billion in damage and six deaths.

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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

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

Image 1
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 2
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 32017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 4Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 5Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 6A 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 7Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 8Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9Flooding 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 10Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 11Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 12Tropical 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 13Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 14All 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 15The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 16The 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 17An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 18Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 19Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 20
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 21Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 22
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 23Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 24An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 25Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 26The 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 27
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 28The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 29The 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 30Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 31Broken 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 32A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 33
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 34
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)

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

The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was the costliest, as well as the first above-average, Atlantic hurricane season since the 2012 season. It featured the highest number of deaths since the 2008 season and also yielded the highest number of named storm landfalls on the United States since that year. The season officially began on June 1 and concluded on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period during each year when a majority of tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The season's first cyclone, Alex, developed on January 12, while the final storm of the season, Otto, closed-out the season by exiting into the Eastern Pacific on November 25, becoming the first Atlantic–Pacific crossover hurricane since Hurricane Cesar–Douglas in 1996.

A total of 16 tropical depressions were recorded, of which 15 further intensified into tropical storms. Of those 15, a total of seven strengthened into hurricanes, while four attained their peaks as major hurricanes. Activity began with Alex which, upon making landfall in the Azores, became the first January landfalling tropical cyclone since Hurricane Alice in the 1954 season. In June, tropical storms Colin and Danielle became the earliest third and fourth named storms, respectively, on record. Hermine moved ashore the coastline of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on September 2, ending the record hurricane drought that began in the state after the 2005 season's Hurricane Wilma. In late September and early October, Hurricane Matthew wrought destruction throughout the Caribbean Sea and Southeastern United States, resulting in $15.09 billion (2016 USD) in damage and 603 deaths. In mid-October, Hurricane Nicole developed to Category 4 intensity and remained a major hurricane while directly impacting Bermuda, the first storm of such strength to do so since Hurricane Fabian in the 2003 season. Following the 2016 season, the names Matthew and Otto were retired from reuse in the North Atlantic by the World Meteorological Organization. (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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