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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Typhoon Thelma at peak intensity on July 11

Typhoon Thelma, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Katring, was the first super typhoon to form in the 1987 Pacific typhoon season. Forming from the monsoon trough in the Philippine Sea, Thelma was first designated as a tropical cyclone on July 7. After moving north, Thelma turned west, while remaining poorly organized. It finally attained typhoon status on July 9, soon after developing an eye, and began to intensify at a brisker clip. During the evening of July 10, Thelma attained maximum intensity while well to the east of the northern Philippines. It also turned sharply northward in response to a trough, slowly weakening. On July 15, Typhoon Thelma, now greatly reduced in intensity, struck the south coast of South Korea. The next day, Thelma rapidly dissipated, shortly after emerging into the Sea of Japan.

Although Thelma remained well offshore the Philippines, around 500 homes were swept away due to flooding, which left more than 3,500 people homeless. A total of 130 people were rescued after a vessel sunk. Nationwide, 12 people perished. In Japan, the typhoon brought heavy rains that was responsible for property damage in 19 prefectures. Throughout the country, three people died while around 1,000 dwellings were flooded. (Full article...)

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The central dense overcast, or CDO, of a tropical cyclone or strong subtropical cyclone is the large central area of thunderstorms surrounding its circulation center, caused by the formation of its eyewall. It can be round, angular, oval, or irregular in shape. This feature shows up in tropical cyclones of tropical storm or hurricane strength. How far the center is embedded within the CDO, and the temperature difference between the cloud tops within the CDO and the cyclone's eye, can help determine a tropical cyclone's intensity with the Dvorak technique. Locating the center within the CDO can be a problem with strong tropical storms and minimal hurricanes as its location can be obscured by the CDO's high cloud canopy. This center location problem can be resolved through the use of microwave satellite imagery.

After a cyclone strengthens to around hurricane intensity, an eye appears at the center of the CDO, defining its center of low pressure and its cyclonic wind field. Tropical cyclones with changing intensity have more lightning within their CDO than steady state storms. Tracking cloud features within the CDO using frequently updated satellite imagery can also be used to determine a cyclone's intensity. The highest maximum sustained winds within a tropical cyclone, as well as its heaviest rainfall, are usually located under the coldest cloud tops in the CDO.

(Full article...)

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This photograph shows the bowl-shaped eye of Typhoon Yuri in the western Pacific Ocean just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. The eye wall descends almost to the sea surface, a distance of nearly 45,000 feet (13 800 meters). In this case the eye is filled with clouds, but in many cases the sea surface can be seen through the eye. Yuri grew to super typhoon status, packing maximum sustained winds estimated at 165 miles per hour (270 km/h). The storm moved west toward the Philippines before turning northeast into the north Pacific Ocean, thus avoiding any major landmass.

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The 1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season had no bounds, but tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. The 1970 season saw a total of seven cyclonic storms, of which three developed into severe cyclonic storms. The Bay of Bengal was more active than the Arabian Sea during 1970, with all of the three severe cyclonic storms in the season forming there. Unusually, none of the storms in the Arabian Sea made landfall this year. The most significant storm of the season was the Bhola cyclone, which formed in the Bay of Bengal and hit Bangladesh on November 12. The storm killed at least 500,000, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone in recorded history. The season was also the deadliest tropical cyclone season globally, with 500,805 fatalities, mostly due to the aforementioned Bhola cyclone.

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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: 21:54, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

May 9

1961 - A cyclone struck what is now Bangladesh, killing 11,468 people.
1968 - A cyclone struck Myanmar, killing 1,049 people.
1990 - A powerful tropical cyclone (pictured) struck Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India. The cyclone killed a total of 967 people and damaged about US$600 million.

May 10

1972 - Cyclone Hannah impacts Papua New Guinea as a weak cyclone.
2002 - The 2002 Oman cyclone made landfall in Oman, bringing up to 250 mm (9.8 in) of rain.
2015 - Typhoon Noul (pictured) made landfall over in Santa Ana, Cagayan at Category 5 typhoon intensity.

May 11

1965 - The first of two cyclones to impact Bangladesh in 1965 made landfall on the country. These two storms collectively killed 47,000 people.
2019 - Cyclone Lili (pictured) made landfall over East Timor before dissipating the same day. The storm caused significant flooding over the island.

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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 1
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 2An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 3Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 5Tropical 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 6
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 72017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 8
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 9An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
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 11Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 12Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 13Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 14Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 15Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
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 17The 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 18
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 19The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 20
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 21Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 22The 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 23A 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 24Broken 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 25Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 26
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 27All 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 28Flooding 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 29
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 30Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 31Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 32A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 33Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)

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

The list of Florida hurricanes from 1900 to 1949 encompasses 108 Atlantic tropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of Florida. Collectively, tropical cyclones in Florida during the time period resulted in about $4 billion (2008 USD) in damage. Additionally, tropical cyclones in Florida were directly responsible for about 3,550 fatalities during the time period, most of which from the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. The 1947 season was the year with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state, with a total of 6 systems. The 1905, 1908, 1913, 1927, 1931, 1942, and 1943 seasons were the only years during the time period in which a storm did not affect the Floridan coasts.

The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the time period was the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which also bears the distinction of being the strongest recorded hurricane to strike the United States. Several other major hurricanes struck the state during the time period, including the 1926 Miami hurricane, the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, and a cyclone each in 1945, 1947, 1948, and 1949. All of these storms made landfall as Category 4 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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