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 Leslie off the Southeastern United States on October 6

Tropical Storm Leslie was a weak, short-lived tropical cyclone that was never well-organized; however, its precursor was costlier than any other tropical cyclone in the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season. The twelfth named storm of the season, Leslie formed on October 4 over eastern Florida as a subtropical cyclone, out of a trough of low pressure. Strengthening over open waters, it attained enough tropical characteristics to be reclassified as Tropical Storm Leslie on October 5. The storm reached peak winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) before wind shear weakened it, and on October 7 transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over the open Atlantic Ocean. Leslie lasted three more days before losing its identity.

The precursor to Leslie produced torrential rainfall across Florida, peaking at 17.5 in (440 mm). The flooding damaged thousands of houses and caused three indirect deaths. Damage in southern Florida totaled $950 million (2000 USD), around half of which was from agricultural damage. After the flooding, portions of south Florida were declared a disaster area. Because of the limited impact as a tropical cyclone, the name Leslie was not retired in the spring of 2001. (Full article...)

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Satellite imagery of Cyclone Ianos, a powerful Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone that impacted Greece on 17 September 2020.

Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, often referred to as Mediterranean cyclones or Mediterranean hurricanes, and shortened as medicanes, are meteorological phenomena occasionally observed over the Mediterranean Sea. On a few rare occasions, some storms have been observed reaching the strength of a Category 1 hurricane, on the Saffir–Simpson scale, and Cyclone Ianos in 2020 was recorded reaching Category 2 intensity. The main societal hazard posed by medicanes is not usually from destructive winds, but through life-threatening torrential rains and flash floods.

The occurrence of medicanes has been described as not particularly rare. Tropical-like systems were first identified in the Mediterranean basin in the 1980s, when widespread satellite coverage showing tropical-looking low pressures which formed a cyclonic eye in the center were identified. Due to the dry nature of the Mediterranean region, the formation of tropical, subtropical cyclones and tropical-like cyclones is infrequent and also hard to detect, in particular with the reanalysis of past data. Depending on the search algorithms used, different long-term surveys of satellite era and pre-satellite era data came up with 67 tropical-like cyclones of tropical storm intensity or higher between 1947 and 2014, and around 100 recorded tropical-like storms between 1947 and 2011. More consensus exists about the long term temporal and spatial distribution of tropical-like cyclones: they form predominantly over the western and central Mediterranean Sea while the area east of Crete is almost devoid of tropical-like cyclones. The development of tropical-like cyclones can occur year-round, with activity historically peaking between the months of September and January, while the counts for the summer months of June and July are the lowest, being within the peak dry season of the Mediterranean with stable air. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Elida as a Category 5 hurricane on July 25, 2002. The hurricane is located in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico.

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The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of number of systems. It featured a total of 31 tropical or subtropical cyclones, with all but one cyclone becoming a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 developed into hurricanes, and a record-tying 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, the previous record. Of the 30 named storms, 11 of them made landfall in the contiguous United States, breaking the record of nine set in 1916. During the season, 27 tropical storms established a new record for earliest formation date by storm number. This season also featured a record ten tropical cyclones that underwent rapid intensification, tying it with 1995, as well as tying the record for most Category 4 hurricanes in a singular season in the Atlantic Basin. This unprecedented activity was fueled by a La Niña that developed in the summer months of 2020, continuing a stretch of above-average seasonal activity that began in 2016. Despite the record-high activity, this was the first season since 2015 in which no Category 5 hurricanes formed.

The season officially started on June 1 and officially ended on November 30. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the early formation of Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha, on May 16 and 27, respectively. This was the sixth consecutive year with a pre-season system and the second of these seasons to have two, with the other being 2016. The first hurricane, Hurricane Hanna, made landfall in Texas on July 25. Hurricane Isaias formed on July 31, and made landfall in The Bahamas and North Carolina in early August, both times as a Category 1 hurricane; Isaias caused $4.8 billion in damage overall. In late August, Laura made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone on record in terms of wind speed to make landfall in the state, alongside the 1856 Last Island hurricane and Ida. Laura caused at least $19 billion in damage and 77 deaths. September was the most active month on record in the Atlantic, with ten named storms. Slow-moving Hurricane Sally impacted the United States Gulf Coast, causing severe flooding. The Greek alphabet was used for only the second time, starting on September 17 with Subtropical Storm Alpha, which made landfall in Portugal on the following day. (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): No active systems

Australian region (2023–24): No active systems

South Pacific (2023–24): No active systems

South Atlantic (2023–24): No active systems

Last updated: 21:50, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

June 8

1960 - Typhoon Mary struck Hong Kong, killing 1,649 people across southeastern China.
1966 - Hurricane Alma made landfall in western Cuba causing severe flooding. The storm killed a total of 90 people and caused over $200 million of damage.

June 9

1934 - A hurricane struck what is now Belize after looping across Central America. The storm killed at least 516 people along its path.
1989 - Typhoon Dot (track pictured) reached peak strength as a Category 3 while nearing landfall over in Hainan, causing 8 deaths and CN¥170 million (US$45.1 million) of damages.
1998 - A cyclone struck the Indian state of Gujarat, killing at least 4,000 people.

June 10

1974 - Typhoon Dinah made landfall on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Dinah killed 73 people in the Philippines, Hainan and Vietnam.
1991 - Cyclone Gritelle (pictured) became a named system, making it the strongest system within the south-west Indian Ocean to form in the month of June, as well as the latest in the cyclone year to be properly named.

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

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

The 2015 Pacific hurricane season was the second-most active Pacific hurricane season on record, and featured the strongest tropical cyclone ever observed in the Western Hemisphere: Hurricane Patricia. The season officially started on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific—east of 140°W—and on June 1 in the Central Pacific—between the International Date Line and 140°W—and ended on November 30. These dates typically cover the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Northeastern Pacific tropical cyclone basin. The season's first storm, Hurricane Andres, developed on May 28; the season's final storm, Tropical Depression Nine-C, dissipated on December 31, well after the official end of the season.

Throughout the season, 31 tropical depressions developed, 26 of which became tropical storms, a record-tying 16 of them reached hurricane strength, and a record-breaking 11 achieved major hurricane intensity. Activity in the Central Pacific shattered records, with 16 tropical cyclones forming in or entering the basin; the previous highest was 11 during the 1992 and 1994 seasons. On August 30, three hurricanes at Category 4 strength—Ignacio, Jimena, and Kilo—existed simultaneously in the Northeastern Pacific, which was a first for the basin. On October 23, Hurricane Patricia became the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; 25.75 inHg) and maximum sustained winds of 215 mph (345 km/h). Activity in the basin was boosted by the strong 2014–16 El Niño event, which brought anomalously high sea surface temperatures and low vertical wind shear that helped the numerous systems form and intensify. (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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