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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Tip at its record peak intensity on October 12

Typhoon Tip, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Warling, was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded. The forty-third tropical depression, nineteenth tropical storm, twelfth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, Tip developed out of a disturbance within the monsoon trough on October 4 near Pohnpei in Micronesia. Initially, Tropical Storm Roger to the northwest hindered the development and motion of Tip, though after the storm tracked farther north, Tip was able to intensify. After passing Guam, Tip rapidly intensified and reached peak sustained winds of 305 km/h (190 mph) and a worldwide record-low sea-level pressure of 870 hPa (25.69 inHg) on October 12. At its peak intensity, Tip was the largest tropical cyclone on record, with a wind diameter of 2,220 km (1,380 mi). Tip slowly weakened as it continued west-northwestward and later turned to the northeast, in response to an approaching trough. The typhoon made landfall in southern Japan on October 19, and became an extratropical cyclone shortly thereafter. Tip's extratropical remnants continued moving east-northeastward, until they dissipated near the Aleutian Islands on October 24.

U.S. Air Force aircraft flew 60 weather reconnaissance missions into the typhoon, making Tip one of the most closely observed tropical cyclones. Rainfall from Tip indirectly led to a fire that killed 13 Marines and injured 68 at Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. Elsewhere in the country, the typhoon caused widespread flooding and 42 deaths; offshore shipwrecks left 44 people killed or missing. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Wilma track map

Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record in terms of minimum barometric pressure, with an atmospheric pressure of 882 millibars (26.0 inHg). Wilma's destructive journey began in the second week of October 2005. A large area of disturbed weather developed across much of the Caribbean and gradually organized to the southeast of Jamaica. By late on October 15, the system was sufficiently organized for the National Hurricane Center to designate it as Tropical Depression Twenty-Four.

The depression drifted southwestward, and under favorable conditions, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Wilma on October 17. Initially, development was slow due to its large size, though convection steadily organized. From October 18, and through the following day, Wilma underwent explosive deepening over the open waters of the Caribbean; in a 30-hour period, the system's central atmospheric pressure dropped from 982 millibars (29.0 inHg) to the record-low value of 882 millibars (26.0 inHg), while the winds increased to 185 mph (298 km/h). At its peak intensity, the eye of Wilma was about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) in diameter, the smallest known eye in an Atlantic hurricane. After the inner eye dissipated due to an eyewall replacement cycle, Hurricane Wilma weakened to Category 4 status, and on October 21, it made landfall on Cozumel and on the Mexican mainland with winds of about 150 mph (240 km/h). (Full article...)

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View of the eyewall of Hurricane Katrina taken on Aug. 28, 2005, as seen from an NOAA WP-3D Orion hurricane hunter aircraft before the storm made landfall on the United States Gulf Coast.

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The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active year on record until surpassed by 2020. It featured 28 tropical or subtropical storms. The United States National Hurricane Center named 27 storms, exhausting the annual pre-designated list, requiring the use of six Greek letter names, and adding an additional unnamed storm during a post-season re-analysis. A record 15 storms attained hurricane status, with maximum sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour (119 km/h). Of those, a record seven became major hurricanes, rated Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Four storms of this season became Category 5 hurricanes, the highest ranking.

The four Category 5 hurricanes during the season were: Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In July, Emily reached peak intensity in the Caribbean Sea, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane of the season, later weakening and striking Mexico twice. In August, Katrina reached peak winds in the Gulf of Mexico but weakened by the time it struck the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The most devastating effects of the season were felt on the Gulf Coast of the United States, where Katrina's storm surge crippled New Orleans, Louisiana, for weeks and devastated the Mississippi coastline. Katrina became the costliest U.S. hurricane, leaving $125 billion in damage and 1,392 deaths. Rita followed in September, reaching peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico before weakening and hitting near the border of Texas and Louisiana. The season's strongest hurricane, Wilma, became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, as measured by barometric pressure. Lasting for ten days in October, Wilma moved over Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Florida, causing over $22 billion in damage and 52 deaths. (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): Moderate Tropical Storm Hidaya

Australian region (2023–24): No active systems

South Pacific (2023–24): No active systems

South Atlantic (2023–24): No active systems

Last updated: 02:33, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

May 6, 1957 - Typhoon Trix (track pictured) reached its peak intensity with a central pressure of 950 hPa (mbar) to the east of the Philippines.

May 7

1932 - A tropical storm moved across Hispaniola.
2011 - Tropical Storm Aere (pictured) affects the Philippines killing 48 people and Php1.4 billion (US$34 million) in damages.

May 8

2003 - Cyclone Manou reached its peak intensity in the Indian Ocean with a central pressure of 967 hPa (mbar). Manou killed 70 people in Madagascar.
2017 - Cyclone Donna (pictured) attained peak intensity in the South Pacific Ocean, with peak 10 minute winds of 205 km/h (125 mph); this made it the strongest ever recorded Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone in the month of May.

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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 1A 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 2The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 3Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 4All 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 5Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 6A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 7
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 8
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 9Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 10The 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 11Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 12Broken 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 13Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 14
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 15An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 16An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 17Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 18The 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 19Flooding 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 20Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 21
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 22
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 23The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 24Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 25Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 26
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 272017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 28
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 29Tropical 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 30Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
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 32Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 33Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)

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

The list of North Carolina hurricanes between 1900 and 1949 encompasses 75 tropical cyclones or their remnants that affected the U.S. state of North Carolina. Collectively, cyclones in North Carolina during that time period resulted in 53 total fatalities, as well as about $328 million in damage in 2008 USD. Tropical cyclone affected the state in all but nine seasons. In the 1916 season, five storms affected the state, which makes it the season with the most storms impacting the state.

The strongest hurricanes to affect the state during the time period were the 1933 Outer Banks hurricane and the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, which produced winds of Category 3 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale within the state. The 1933 Outer Banks hurricane was the deadliest hurricane in the state during the time period, which killed 21 people. The remnants of a hurricane in 1940 dropped heavy rainfall in the state, which caused over $150 million in damage (2008 USD) from flooding and landslides. Most storms affected the state in September, though in the first half of the 20th century, cyclones impacted the state between May and December. (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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