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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Hurricane Lane at peak intensity southeast of Hawaii on August 22

Hurricane Lane was a powerful tropical cyclone that brought torrential rainfall and strong winds to Hawaii during late August 2018. The storm was the wettest on record in Hawaii, with peak rainfall accumulations of 58 inches (1,473 mm) along the eastern slopes of Mauna Kea. The twelfth named storm, sixth hurricane, fourth major hurricane, and the first of three Category 5 hurricanes of the record-breaking 2018 Pacific hurricane season, Lane originated from an area of low pressure that formed well southwest of Mexico on August 13. Tracking west through a region of favorable atmospheric and oceanic conditions, the system steadily intensified over the following days. It reached an initial peak as a Category 4 hurricane on August 18. Temporarily inhibited by more hostile conditions, the hurricane weakened slightly before regaining strength and reaching Category 5 status on August 22 to the south of Hawaii. Lane peaked with winds of 160 mph (255 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 926 mbar (hPa; 27.34 inHg). Thereafter, the hurricane turned north and slowed. During this period, torrential rains battered much of the Hawaiian Islands. Unfavorable conditions again affected the hurricane, and it degraded to a tropical depression by August 28 before dissipating the following day.

Lane prompted the issuance of hurricane watches and warnings for every island in Hawaii. From August 22 to 26, Lane brought heavy rain to much of the Hawaiian Windward Islands, which caused flash flooding and mudslides. Effects were most significant in and around Hilo where multiple neighborhoods were flooded. Across the Big Island, 159 structures were damaged or destroyed. Strong winds downed trees and power lines on Maui, and brush fires ignited on both Maui and Oahu. One fatality occurred on Kauai. Landslides and flooding damaged roads statewide; repairs concluded in April 2019. Total economic losses from the hurricane exceeded $250 million. In September, President Donald Trump declared much of Hawaii a disaster area; the Federal Emergency Management Agency ultimately provided about $10 million in aid. (Full article...)

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Surface weather analysis of the hurricane on August 5

The 1926 Nova Scotia hurricane (also known as the 1926 Great August Gale) was one of the deadliest Canadian hurricanes in the 20th century. The second tropical cyclone and second hurricane of the season, the storm developed from a trough situated well east of the Leeward Islands on July 29. Over the next few days, it moved west-northwest, becoming a tropical storm by July 31. The cyclone turned to the northwest on August 1 and began strengthening rapidly, reaching hurricane intensity by the early afternoon. The next day, it became a major hurricane—equivalent to Category 3 intensity on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Over the next few days, the storm's track varied between north-northwest and northwest. Early on August 5, it peaked with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). The hurricane then began weakening as it curved northward. The storm began losing tropical characteristics while approaching Atlantic Canada, transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on August 8. The remnants soon made landfall near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, with winds of 75 mph (121 km/h), before being last noted over Newfoundland later that day.

The hurricane produced sustained winds of 54 mph (87 km/h) on Bermuda while passing about 80 mi (130 km) west of the island, but left minimal impact. In Atlantic Canada, the cyclone sank several ships and boats offshore Nova Scotia, including the schooners Sylvia Mosher and Sadie Knickle. A total of 55–58 deaths occurred, including at least 49 from those two ships crashing ashore Sable Island. On land, the storm downed trees and electrical poles in Nova Scotia, damaging some homes and leaving telephone service outages. Crops and fruit trees were also damaged. High winds interrupted telegraph communications in Newfoundland. Despite the number of fatalities, little was done to mitigate for a tropical cyclone prior to the hurricane in August 1927, which caused more than three times as many deaths. (Full article...)

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Rainfall total map of Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001. The rainfall caused severe flooding along its path, particularly near Dallas, resulting in over $6 billion in damage. Map provided by David Roth, Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.

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The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a very active hurricane season. With hundreds of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, this was one of the deadliest and costliest Pacific hurricane seasons on record. This was due to the exceptionally strong 1997–98 El Niño event. The season officially started on May 15, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when almost all tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Several storms impacted land. The first was Tropical Storm Andres which killed four people and left another two missing. In August, Tropical Storm Ignacio took an unusual path through the basin, resulting in its extratropical remnants causing minimal damage throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. Linda became the most intense east Pacific hurricane in recorded history, a record it maintained until it was surpassed by Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Although it never made landfall, it produced large surf in Southern California and as a result, five people had to be rescued. Hurricane Nora caused flooding and damage in the Southwestern United States, while Olaf made two landfalls and caused eighteen deaths and several other people were reported missing. Hurricane Pauline killed several hundred people and caused record damage in southeastern Mexico. In addition, Super Typhoons Oliwa and Paka originated in the region before crossing the International Date Line and causing significant damage in the western Pacific. There were also two Category 5 hurricanes: Linda and Guillermo. (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): Tropical Depression 17W (Igme)

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: 05:48, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

September 21

1934 - Mainland Japan's stronger-ever typhoon, known as the Muroto typhoon (damage pictured), killed 3,066 people and left US$300 million in damage, with 200,000&bsp;people left homeless.
1938 - A hurricane known as the Long Island Express hit Long Island, New York as a Category 3 hurricane with a central pressure of 946 hPa (mbar). The hurricane killed between 500 and 700 people in New England.

September 22,

1986 - Hurricane Newton makes landfall near Cabo San Lucas.
1989 - Hurricane Hugo (pictured) made landfall in South Carolina with 220 km/h (140 mph) winds. Hugo caused over $10 billion of damage and killed 76 people.
2007 - Tropical Depression Ten makes landfall over in southeastern Alabama and caused total damages of $6.3 million.

September 23

1874 - A typhoon struck Hong Kong, killing 17,000 people.
1983 - Typhoon Forrest explosively intensified into a Category 5 super typhoon. Forrest became the fastest intensifying cyclone with a 100 hPa drop in 24 hours.
1987 - Hurricane Otis (pictured) reaches peak intensity as a Category 3 major hurricane with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph).
1998 - Hurricane Georges passed over the Windward Passage and made landfall in Cuba just east of Guantánamo Bay. Georges killed over 600 people throughout the Caribbean, mostly on the island of Hispaniola.

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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 1The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 2Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 3Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 5Broken 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 6
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 7Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 8Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 9An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 10Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 11Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 12The 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 13A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 14Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 15Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 16The 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 17Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 18Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 19All 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 20Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 21An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 22Flooding 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 23
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 24Tropical 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 25The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 26
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 27A 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 28
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 292017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 30The 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 31Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 32
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 33Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 34
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)

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

The Arabian Peninsula is a peninsula between the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. There are 64 known tropical cyclones that affected the peninsula, primarily Yemen and Oman. For convenience, storms are included that affected the Yemeni island of Socotra. Most of the tropical cyclones originated in the Arabian Sea, the portion of the Indian Ocean north of the equator and west of India. The remainder formed in the Bay of Bengal off India's east coast. Collectively, the 64 storms have caused at least US$8.3 billion in damage and 1,693 deaths. The strongest and most damaging cyclone was Cyclone Gonu, which caused US$4 billion in damage and 50 fatalities when it struck Oman in 2007. Tropical cyclone damage in the Arabian Peninsula is chiefly due to flooding. (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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