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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Cyclone Veronica at peak intensity nearing its landfall in Western Australia on 21 March

Severe Tropical Cyclone Veronica was a large and powerful tropical cyclone which brought major impacts to the Pilbara region of Western Australia during March 2019. The nineteenth tropical low, eighth tropical cyclone and fifth severe tropical cyclone on the 2018–19 Australian region cyclone season, Veronica first appeared as a tropical low near East Timor on 18 March 2019. The system was slow to develop initially while tracking southwestwards through the Timor Sea, but began to consolidate the following day. The storm was upgraded by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale at 18:00 UTC on 19 March, by which time a steady development trend had begun. Upon attaining Category 2 status at 06:00 UTC on 20 March, Veronica underwent a period of explosive intensification. The system became a severe tropical cyclone six hours later, and Category 4 just six hours after that. Veronica reached peak intensity at 06:00 UTC the following day as a high-end Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, with ten-minute sustained winds estimated at 195 km/h (120 mph), and a central barometric pressure of 938 hPa (27.70 inHg). The United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated that the system was generating one-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), equivalent to a mid-range Category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Veronica proceeded to weaken very gradually over the following few days as it turned towards Western Australia's Pilbara coastline. The system weakened to Category 3 while located just off the Pilbara coast, where it became almost stationary for 24 hours. Veronica began to weaken more quickly as it accelerated westwards on 25 March, tracking parallel to the coast. The system was downgraded below tropical cyclone intensity on 26 March, and after making landfall on North West Cape later that day, the system began to track away from the Australian mainland. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Veronica dissipated on 31 March over the eastern Indian Ocean.

When Veronica struck Australia in March 2019, it flooded major areas and caused about AUS$1.7 billion (US$1.2 billion) in economic losses, primarily from disruptions to iron ore exports. This storm formed near the time when Cyclone Trevor made landfall in Queensland. Most of the coastal regions of Pilbara suffered some level of damage. (Full article...)

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A tropical cyclone rainfall climatology is developed to determine rainfall characteristics of past tropical cyclones. A tropical cyclone rainfall climatology can be used to help forecast current or upcoming tropical cyclone impacts. The degree of a tropical cyclone rainfall impact depends upon speed of movement, storm size, and degree of vertical wind shear. One of the most significant threats from tropical cyclones is heavy rainfall. Large, slow moving, and non-sheared tropical cyclones produce the heaviest rains. The intensity of a tropical cyclone appears to have little bearing on its potential for rainfall over land, but satellite measurements over the last several years show that more intense tropical cyclones produce noticeably more rainfall over water. Flooding from tropical cyclones remains a significant cause of fatalities, particularly in low-lying areas. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Mitch near peak intensity. When this photo was taken, Mitch was in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Central America.

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The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active season with tropical cyclogenesis occurring before and after the official bounds of the season—the first such occurrence since the 1970 season. The season produced 21 tropical cyclones, of which 16 developed into named storms; seven of those attained hurricane status, of which three reached major hurricane status. The strongest hurricane of the season was Hurricane Isabel, which reached Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale northeast of the Lesser Antilles; Isabel later struck North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane, causing $3.6 billion in damage (2003 USD) and a total of 51 deaths across the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Although the bounds of the season are typically from June 1 to November 30, the season began early with the formation of Subtropical Storm Ana on April 20, and it ended relatively late on December 11 with the dissipation of Tropical Storm Peter. In early September, Hurricane Fabian struck Bermuda as a Category 3 hurricane, where it was the worst hurricane since 1926; on the island it caused four deaths and $300 million in damage (2003 USD). Hurricane Juan caused considerable destruction to Nova Scotia, particularly Halifax, as a Category 2 hurricane, the first hurricane of significant strength to hit the province since 1893. Additionally, Hurricanes Claudette and Erika struck Texas and Mexico, respectively, as minimal hurricanes. In December, Tropical Storm Odette struck the Dominican Republic, and Tropical Storm Peter formed in the eastern portion of the basin. (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 4

2006 - Cyclone Gonu (pictured) became the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, with 3-minute winds of 155 km/h (100 mph); two days later, Gonu struck the Arabian Peninsula, killing 49 people and causing about $4 billion of damage.
2012 - Typhoon Mawar reaches peak intensity as a Category 3 typhoon.
2014 - Tropical Storm Boris makes landfall over Southwestern Mexico and kills 6 people with US$46.8 million in damages.

June 5

1890 - A cyclone struck northeastern Oman, killing 727 people from its floods.
2001 - Tropical Storm Allison (pictured) formed over the northern Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in Southeast Texas. Allison caused record levels of rainfall along much of its path, with the resulting flooding killing 41 people and causing US$5.5 billion of damage, making Allison the costliest tropical storm on record.
2003 - Cyclone Epi developed east of Papua New Guinea.

June 6

1994 - Tropical Storm Russ moved across Hainan Island and southern China, killing 72 people and leaving US$727.5&bsp;million in damage.
1999 - Typhoon Maggie made landfall in China, and along its path the storm killed nine people.
2012 - Tropical Storm Kuena (pictured) became a rare June tropical storm in the South-West Indian Ocean.

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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 1
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 2A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 3Tropical 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 4Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 5Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 6Flooding 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 7All 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 8
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 9Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 10Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 11Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 12The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 13
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 14An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 15Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 162017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
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 18Broken 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 19Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 20Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 21The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 22
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(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 24Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 25
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 26Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 27An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 28
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 29
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 30Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 31Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 32The 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 33The 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)

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

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. An above-average Atlantic hurricane season season, it was the first on record to have a major hurricane in every month from July to November.

The season officially began on June 1, 2008, and ended on November 30, 2008, dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin. The season's first storm, Tropical Storm Arthur, formed on May 30, and the last, Hurricane Paloma, dissipated on November 10. Pre-season forecasts noted a high possibility for an above average number of tropical cyclones, primarily due to lingering La Niña effects and abnormally warm sea surface temperatures across the Atlantic basin. Altogether, 16 of the 17 tropical cyclones observed during the season developed into tropical storms. Of these, eight became hurricanes with five intensifying further into major hurricanes. With the exception of Tropical Storm Nana, every tropical cyclone during the season affected land to an extent. (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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