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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Freddy at its peak intensity while northeast of Rodrigues on 19 February.

Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy, also known as Severe Tropical Cyclone Freddy, was an exceptionally long-lived, powerful, and deadly tropical cyclone that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for more than five weeks in February and March 2023. Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, traveling across the southern Indian Ocean, Mozambique, and Madagascar for 36 days, surpassing the record set by Hurricane John in 1994. Freddy also produced the most Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of any individual cyclone. Additionally, it is the third-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, only behind 2019's Cyclone Idai and the 1973 Flores cyclone. Freddy was the fourth named storm of the 2022–23 Australian region cyclone season, and the second very intense tropical cyclone of the 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season.

Freddy first developed as a disturbance on 5 February 2023. While in the Australian region cyclone basin, the storm quickly intensified and became a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, before it moved into the South-West Indian Ocean basin, where it intensified further. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated 1-minute sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph) at Freddy's peak strength, equivalent to Category 5 strength on the Saffir–Simpson scale. On 19 February, Météo-France (MFR) upgraded it to a very intense tropical cyclone, estimated 10-minute winds of 230 km/h (145 mph). Freddy made its first landfall near Mananjary, Madagascar. The storm rapidly weakened overland but re-strengthened in the Mozambique Channel. Shortly afterward, Freddy made second landfall just south of Vilankulos, Mozambique, before rapidly weakening again. Unexpectedly, the system managed to survive its visit in Mozambique and emerged back over the channel on 1 March. Soon after, Freddy was re-classified as a tropical cyclone by the MFR. Over the course of 10 days, Freddy rapidly intensified on two occasions, eventually slowing to a semi-stationary movement near Quelimane, Mozambique. Moving northwest inland, the storm gradually deteriorated and was last noted on 14 March. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Gordon's winding route

Hurricane Gordon developed during a fourteen-day period along an erratic, persistent, and highly unusual path. The hurricane formed near Panama in the southwestern Caribbean on November 8, 1994. As a tropical depression, it brushed Nicaragua and spent several days in the waters off the country's coast. Strengthening slightly into a tropical storm, Gordon wound its way north into the Greater Antilles. Despite warm waters, persistent wind shear prevented significant strengthening. Executing a slow turn to the north and then the northwest, Gordon made two more landfalls, on eastern Jamaica and eastern Cuba, while delivering tremendous rains to western Hispaniola.

As Gordon made its fourth landfall crossing the Florida Keys, it interacted with a cyclone in the upper-troposphere and a series of cyclonic lows which lent the storm some sub-tropical characteristics. After a few days as an unusual hybrid of a tropical and a subtropical system in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm re-claimed its fully tropical form and made yet another landfall, this time across the Florida peninsula, and continued into the Atlantic Ocean. In the Atlantic, Gordon rapidly strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Gordon's characteristic wandering briefly brought it near North Carolina, but ultimately the storm headed south, weakening into a minor tropical storm before making its sixth and final landfall on Florida's east coast. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Floyd was a destructive hurricane that hit North Carolina and New Jersey during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. The image above was taken of Floyd near its peak intensity, and because the image is so striking, it has often been attributed to other, more recent destructive storms such as Hurricane Jeanne and Hurricane Katrina.

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The 2016 Pacific hurricane season was tied as the fifth-most active Pacific hurricane season on record, alongside the 2014 season. Throughout the course of the year, a total of 22 named storms, 13 hurricanes and six major hurricanes were observed within the basin. Although the season was very active, it was considerably less active than the previous season, with large gaps of inactivity at the beginning and towards the end of the season. It officially started on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific (north of the Equator and east 140°W), and on June 1 in the Central Pacific (from 140°W to the International Date Line); they both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in these regions of the Pacific Ocean. However, tropical development is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the formation of Hurricane Pali on January 7, the earliest Central Pacific tropical cyclone on record. After Pali, however, no tropical cyclones developed in either region until a short-lived depression on June 6. Also, there were no additional named storms until July 2, when Tropical Storm Agatha formed, becoming (at the time) the latest first-named Eastern Pacific tropical storm since Tropical Storm Ava in 1969, later was surpassed by Tropical Storm Aletta eight years later.

Hurricane Darby brushed the Hawaiian islands as a tropical storm causing only minor damage; while hurricanes Lester and Madeline also threatened to make landfall in Hawaii but weakened significantly before approaching the islands. Tropical Storm Javier and Hurricane Newton both made landfall in Mexico, with the latter being responsible for at least nine fatalities as it came ashore near Baja California Sur. Hurricane Ulika was a rare and erratic storm which zig-zagged across 140°W a total of three times. Hurricane Seymour became the strongest storm of the season, forming in late October. Finally, in late November, Hurricane Otto from the Atlantic made an unusual crossing over Central America, emerging into the East Pacific as a moderate tropical storm but dissipated shortly after. Damage across the basin reached $95 million (2016 USD), while 11 people were killed by Celia and Newton overall.

(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 (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: 18:07, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

July 8, 2005 - Hurricane Dennis (pictured) made its second Cuban landfall with 220 km/h (140 mph) winds. Dennis caused between $4 billion and $6 billion of damage, mostly in Cuba and the United States.

July 9,

1995 - Tropical Storm Barry made landfall on Hart Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Barry brought only minor effects to the province.
2015 - Typhoon Chan-hom (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph), just a day before it made landfall over in Zhejiang which caused about CN¥5.86 billion (US$944 million) in damages.

July 10,

2001 - Tropical Storm Trami makes landfall over Taiwan as a tropical storm.
2006 - Typhoon Ewiniar (pictured) made landfall in South Korea as a severe tropical storm, passing very close to Seoul. Ewiniar killed least 40 people in various countries.

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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

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 2The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 3A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 4
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 5Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 6
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 7Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 8All 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 9
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 10The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 11
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 12Flooding 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 13The 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 14The 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 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 16Tropical 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 17A 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 18
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 19An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 20
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 21The 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 222017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 23Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 24Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 25Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 26Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 27
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 28Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 29Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 30Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 31Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 32Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 33Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)

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

The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. A near average Atlantic hurricane season, September had a record-tying eight storms, although the strength and duration of most of the storms was low. Also, for only the second time in recorded history, an Atlantic hurricane, Felix, and an eastern Pacific hurricane, Henriette, made landfall on the same day.

The season officially began on June 1, 2007, and ended on November 30, 2007, dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin. The season's first storm, Subtropical Storm Andrea, developed from an extratropical cyclone that formed on May 6, and the last, Tropical Storm Olga, dissipated on December 11. Altogether, there were 15 named tropical storms during the 2007 season. Six storms attained hurricane strength with two intensifying further into major hurricanes. (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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