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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Harvey near peak intensity prior to landfall in southern Texas on August 25

Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone on record, inflicting $125 billion (2017 USD) in damage, primarily from catastrophic rainfall-triggered flooding in the Houston metropolitan area and Southeast Texas; this made the storm the costliest natural disaster recorded in Texas at the time. It was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12-year span in which no hurricanes made landfall at the intensity of a major hurricane throughout the country. In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain as the system slowly meandered over eastern Texas and adjacent waters, causing unprecedented flooding. With peak accumulations of 60.58 in (1,539 mm), in Nederland, Texas, Harvey was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States. The resulting floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, which displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.

The eighth named storm, third hurricane, and first major hurricane of the extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey developed from a tropical wave to the east of the Lesser Antilles, reaching tropical storm status on August 17. The storm crossed through the Windward Islands on the following day, making landfall on the southern end of Barbados and a second landfall on Saint Vincent. Upon entering the Caribbean, Harvey began to weaken due to moderate wind shear, and degenerated into a tropical wave north of Colombia, late on August 19. The remnants were monitored for regeneration as it continued west-northwestward across the Caribbean and the Yucatán Peninsula, before redeveloping over the Bay of Campeche on August 23. Harvey then began to rapidly intensify on August 24, regaining tropical storm status and becoming a hurricane later that day. (Full article...)

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Track of Hurricane Ivan, according to the Saffir-Simpson scale

The meteorological history of Hurricane Ivan, the longest tracked tropical cyclone of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, lasted from late August through late September. The hurricane developed from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on August 31. Tracking westward due to a ridge, favorable conditions allowed it to develop into Tropical Depression Nine on September 2 in the deep tropical Atlantic Ocean. The cyclone gradually intensified until September 5, when it underwent rapid deepening and reached Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; at the time Ivan was the southernmost major North Atlantic hurricane on record.

Ivan quickly weakened due to dry air, but it gradually reorganized, passing just south of Grenada as a major hurricane on September 7. The hurricane attained Category 5 status in the central Caribbean Sea. Over the subsequent days its intensity fluctuated largely due to eyewall replacement cycles, and Ivan passed just south of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and western Cuba with winds at or slightly below Category 5 status. Turning northward and encountering unfavorable conditions, Ivan gradually weakened before making landfall just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama on September 16 with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). The cyclone quickly weakened to tropical depression status as it turned to the northeast, and Ivan transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 18. (Full article...)

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This is a photomosaic of the first natural color images of the Earth successfully taken from a high-altitude rocket. It image shows a large swathe of land to the south and east of the launch site and a tropical cyclone is visible over Del Rio, Texas. This image is also the first ever taken from a sufficient altitude to show the large scale structure of a storm and hints at the promise of meteorological satellites. The rocket was a US Navy sounding rocket launched at 1815 GMT on October 5, 1954 from White Sands, New Mexico and it was at an altitude of about 100 miles when this image was captured. There is a paper available describing this rocket launch and the associated imagery in the Monthly Weather Review.

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The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was the first above-average hurricane season since 2012, producing 15 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes. The season officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30, though the first storm, Hurricane Alex which formed in the Northeastern Atlantic, developed on January 12, being the first hurricane to develop in January since 1938. The final storm, Otto, crossed into the Eastern Pacific on November 25, a few days before the official end. Following Alex, Tropical Storm Bonnie brought flooding to South Carolina and portions of North Carolina. Tropical Storm Colin in early June brought minor flooding and wind damage to parts of the Southeastern United States, especially Florida. Hurricane Earl left 94 fatalities in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, 81 of which occurred in the latter. In early September, Hurricane Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, brought extensive coastal flooding damage especially to the Forgotten and Nature coasts of Florida. Hermine was responsible for five fatalities and about $550 million (2016 USD) in damage.

The strongest, costliest, and deadliest storm of the season was Hurricane Matthew, the southernmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record and the first to reach that intensity since Felix in 2007, ending the longest streak of seasons without a hurricane of such intensity in the Satellite Era. With at least 603 deaths attributed to it, Matthew was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Stan of 2005. Furthermore, damage from Matthew is estimated to be at least $16.5 billion, making it the ninth costliest Atlantic hurricane on record at the time. Hurricane Nicole became the first major hurricane to directly impact Bermuda since Hurricane Fabian in 2003, leaving widespread but relatively moderate damage on the island. The final tropical cyclone of the season – Hurricane Otto – brought severe flooding to Central America in November, particularly in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Otto left 23 deaths and about $190 million in damage. On November 25, the storm emerged into the Eastern Pacific basin, the first such occurrence since Hurricane Cesar–Douglas in 1996. Most of the season's tropical cyclones impacted land, and nine of those storms caused loss of life. Collectively, the storms left at least 736 fatalities and $17.49 billion in damage, making the season the costliest since 2012. (Full article...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2024): Tropical Storm Gordon

East and Central Pacific (2024): Tropical Storm Ileana

West Pacific (2024): Severe Tropical Storm Bebinca

North Indian Ocean (2024): Deep Depression BOB 04

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: 20:05, 13 September 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

September 13,

1982 - Typhoon Irving (pictured) makes landfall over Guangdong. Throughout its lifetime, it killed about 49 people in total.
1997 - Hurricane Linda became the second strongest Pacific hurricane ever recorded with a pressure of 902 hPa off the Mexican coast.
2004 - Tropical Storm Haima makes landfall in Shanghai where damages were only moderate. It was classified as a subtropical storm by the JTWC.

September 14,

1988 - Hurricane Gilbert reached its peak intensity with a central pressure of 888 hPa (mbar) to the south of the Cayman Islands. Gilbert killed over 300 people throughout the Caribbean.
2007 - After landfall, Hurricane Humberto rapidly diminishes after causing $50 million damages over Texas.
2014 - Hurricane Odile (pictured) reaches its peak intensity as a intense Category 4 just before making landfall in Baja California as it damaged a total of $1.22 billion.

September 15,

1995 - Hurricane Ismael made landfall in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico as a minimal hurricane. Ismael killed 116 people and caused $26 million of damage.
2006 - Typhoon Shanshan (pictured) reaches its peak intensity with 10-minute winds of 205 km/h (125 mph) and a minimum pressure of 919 hPa. Shanshan killed 11 people and caused $2.5 billion in South Korea and Japan.

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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 Cyclone Freddy (track pictured) in 2023 was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone worldwide?
…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 Hurricane Otis (pictured) in 2023 was the first Pacific hurricane to make landfall at Category 5 intensity and surpassed Hurricane Patricia as the strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record?

Did you know archive

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

Image 1
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 2The 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 3Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 42017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 5Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 6
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 7Broken 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 8A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 9Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 10An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 11Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 12
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 13Flooding 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 14The 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 15
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 16The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 17Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 18A 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 19Tropical 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 20Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 21The 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 22Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 23All 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 24
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 25Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 26Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 27The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 28Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 29
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 30Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 31Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 32
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 33Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 34An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (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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