Portal:Tropical cyclones
The Tropical Cyclones Portal
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 fuelled 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 near the Equator, approximately 10 degrees away.
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".
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The 1991 Perfect Storm, also known as The No-Name Storm (especially in the years immediately after it took place) and the Halloween Gale/Storm, was a nor'easter that absorbed Hurricane Grace, and ultimately evolved into a small unnamed hurricane itself late in its life cycle. The initial area of low pressure developed off the coast of Atlantic Canada on October 29. Forced southward by a ridge to its north, it reached its peak intensity as a large and powerful cyclone. The storm lashed the east coast of the United States with high waves and coastal flooding before turning to the southwest and weakening. Moving over warmer waters, the system transitioned into a subtropical cyclone before becoming a tropical storm. It executed a loop off the Mid-Atlantic states and turned toward the northeast. On November 1, the system evolved into a full-fledged hurricane, with peak sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 km/h), although the National Hurricane Center left it unnamed to avoid confusion amid media interest in the precursor extratropical storm. It later received the name "the Perfect Storm" (playing off the common expression) after a conversation between Boston National Weather Service forecaster Robert Case and author Sebastian Junger. The system was the twelfth and final tropical cyclone, the eighth tropical storm, and fourth hurricane in the 1991 Atlantic hurricane season. The tropical system weakened, striking Nova Scotia as a tropical storm before dissipating.
Damage from the storm totaled over $200 million (1991 USD) and the death toll was thirteen. Most of the damage occurred while the storm was extratropical, after waves up to 30 feet (10 m) struck the coastline from Nova Scotia to Florida and southeastward to Puerto Rico. In Massachusetts, where damage was heaviest, over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. To the north, more than 100 homes were affected in Maine, including the vacation home of then-President George H. W. Bush. More than 38,000 people were left without power, and along the coast high waves inundated roads and buildings. In portions of New England, the damage was worse than that caused by Hurricane Bob two months earlier.
Aside from tidal flooding along rivers, the storm's effects were primarily concentrated along the coast. A buoy off the coast of Nova Scotia reported a wave height of 100.7 feet (30.7 m), the highest ever recorded in the province's offshore waters. In the middle of the storm, the fishing vessel Andrea Gail sank, killing her crew of six and inspiring the book, and later movie, The Perfect Storm. Off the shore of New York's Long Island, an Air National Guard helicopter ran out of fuel and crashed; four members of its crew were rescued and one died. Two people died after their boat sank off Staten Island. High waves swept two people to their deaths, one in Rhode Island and one in Puerto Rico, and another person was blown off a bridge to his death. The tropical cyclone that formed late in the storm's duration caused little impact, limited to power outages and slick roads; one person was killed in Newfoundland from a traffic accident related to the storm. (Full article...)Selected article -
Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused extensive damage in the Caribbean and Florida. Lasting from late August to mid-September 2017, the storm was the strongest open-Atlantic tropical cyclone on record and the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands. Classified as the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma developed from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands on August 30. Favorable conditions allowed the cyclone to become a hurricane on the following day and then rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by September 1 as it moved generally westward across the Atlantic. However, dry air and eyewall replacement cycles disrupted further strengthening, with fluctuations in intensity during the next few days. Irma resumed deepening upon encountering warmer sea surface temperatures, while approaching the Lesser Antilles on September 4. The system reached Category 5 intensity on the following day and peaked with winds of 180 mph (285 km/h) shortly thereafter.
Irma made its first landfall on Barbuda early on September 6 at peak intensity. The hurricane also struck Saint Martin and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands at Category 5 intensity later that day. Upon clearing the Leeward Islands, the cyclone continued west-northwestward toward the Bahamas. Around the time of landfall on Little Inagua Island early on September 8, Irma weakened to a Category 4 hurricane, after being a Category 5 hurricane for about 60 consecutive hours, the second longest contiguous time period as a Category 5 hurricane on record. Late on September 8, the storm re-intensified to Category 5 southwest of Ragged Island. Irma made landfall near Cayo Romano, Cuba, at that intensity, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the island since 1924. Although land interaction weakened Irma to a high-end Category 2 hurricane, the system re-intensified to Category 4 status as it crossed the warm waters of the Straits of Florida, before making landfall on Cudjoe Key on September 10. Irma weakened to Category 3 status prior to another landfall in Florida on Marco Island later that day. The system degraded into a remnant low over Alabama, and ultimately dissipated on September 13 over Missouri. (Full article...)Selected image -
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The 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Indian Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, east of the Horn of Africa and west of the Malay Peninsula. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean — the Arabian Sea to the west of the Indian subcontinent, abbreviated ARB by the India Meteorological Department (IMD); and the Bay of Bengal to the east, abbreviated BOB by the IMD. (Full article...)Related portals
Currently active tropical cyclones
Italicized basins are unofficial.
- North Atlantic (2021)
- No active systems
- East and Central Pacific (2021)
- No active systems
- North Indian Ocean (2021)
- No active systems
- Mediterranean (2021–22)
- No active systems
- South-West Indian Ocean (2021–22)
- No active systems
- Australian region (2021–22)
- No active systems
- South Pacific (2021–22)
- No active systems
- South Atlantic (2021–22)
- No active systems
Last updated: 09:54, 25 July 2021 (UTC)
Tropical cyclone anniversaries
- July 26, 1926 - The 1926 Nassau hurricane (track pictured) reached its peak intensity with winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) over the central Bahamas. The hurricane killed 287 people and devastated Nassau.
July 27,
- 1943 - A US Air Force pilot flew his North American T-6 Texan trainer directly into the 1943 Surprise Hurricane off the Gulf Coast of the United States, making it the first hurricane entered by reconnaissance aircraft.
- 2011 - Tropical Storm Nock-ten (pictured) makes landfall over in Luzon, Philippines where it killed 75 people with damages of US$65.7 million in the country alone.
July 28,
- 1996 - Hurricane Cesar–Douglas (pictured) made landfall in Nicaragua. Cesar killed 67 people and caused over $39 million of damage.
- 2008 - Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall over Taiwan as a Category 2 typhoon, which killed 23 people and have damages of over $500 million.
Did you know…
- …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?
- …that Hurricane Beryl (pictured) in 2018 caused a spike in calls to a mental health hotline, due to the effects of Hurricane Maria on the island a year prior?
- …that the 1858 San Diego hurricane is the only known tropical system that impacted California with hurricane-force winds?
- …that Hurricane Zeta (pictured) in 2020 dropped several inches of snowfall in Boston, Massachusetts and was one of the few Atlantic tropical cyclones that brought accumulating snow?
General images -
Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
The 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)
A 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)
Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Environment (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
South Pacific cyclone (from Cyclone)
Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
An extratropical cyclone near Iceland on September 4, 2003 (from Cyclone)
A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
The 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)
Australian region cyclone (from Cyclone)
Pacific hurricane (from Cyclone)
Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Tropical 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)
Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Pacific typhoon (from Cyclone)
Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Atlantic hurricane (from Cyclone)
Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
2017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
All 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)
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the second-costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Harvey was both the wettest and costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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Featured list -
The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was the most active season since the 1994 season, producing 24 tropical depressions, 19 of which became tropical storms or hurricanes. The season officially started on May 15, 1997 in the Eastern Pacific—designated as the area east of 140°W—and on June 1, 1997 in the Central Pacific, which is between the International Date Line and 140°W. The season officially ended in both basins on November 30, 1997. These dates typically limit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the eastern Pacific basin. This timeline documents all the storm formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, as well as dissipation. The timeline also includes information which was not operationally released, meaning that information from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as information on a storm that was not operationally warned on, has been included.
The first storm formed on June 1 and the final storm crossed into the western Pacific on December 6, thus ending the season. There were 24 cyclones in both the eastern and central Pacific, including 5 unnamed tropical depressions. Of these, 19 were in the east Pacific; 8 peaked at tropical storm intensity, while 10 reached hurricane status. Seven of these reached Category 3 intensity or higher on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, including central Pacific cyclones Super Typhoons Oliwa and Paka, which became typhoons after crossing into the Western Pacific. (Full article...)Topics
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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 Meteorology is the main center point of coordination for Wikipedia's coverage of meteorology in general.
WikiProject Weather – Non-tropical storms task force – coordinates most of Wikipedia's coverage on notable extratropical cyclones, and the two projects share numerous overlaps.
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