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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Gonu near peak intensity on June 4

Super Cyclonic Storm Gonu was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that became the strongest cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea. The second named tropical cyclone of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Gonu developed from a persistent area of convection in the eastern Arabian Sea on June 1, 2007. With a favorable upper-level environment and warm sea surface temperatures, it rapidly intensified to attain peak winds of 240 km/h (150 mph) on June 4, according to the India Meteorological Department. Gonu weakened after encountering dry air and cooler waters, and early on June 6, it made landfall on the easternmost tip of Oman, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula. It then turned northward into the Gulf of Oman, and dissipated on June 7, after making landfall in southern Iran, the first landfall in the country since 1898.

Intense tropical cyclones like Gonu are extremely rare in the Arabian Sea, and most storms in this area tend to be small and dissipate quickly. The cyclone caused 50 deaths and about $4.2 billion in damage (2007 USD) in Oman, where the cyclone was considered the nation's worst natural disaster. Gonu dropped heavy rainfall near the eastern coastline, reaching up to 610 mm (24 inches), which caused flooding and heavy damage. In Iran, the cyclone caused 28 deaths and $216 million in damage (2007 USD). (Full article...)

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Hurricane Georges making landfall in Mississippi

The effects of Hurricane Georges in Louisiana included $30.1 million in damage and three deaths. Forming from a tropical wave over the Atlantic Ocean, Georges attained a peak intensity of 155 mph (249 km/h) on September 20, 1998. Over the following several days, the storm tracked through the Greater Antilles and later entered the Gulf of Mexico on September 28, the Category 2 storm made landfall in Mississippi before dissipating on October 1. Before landfall, about 500,000 residents in Louisiana evacuated from low-lying areas. The mayor of New Orleans declared a state of emergency to allow federal assistance into the state. After nearly 1.5 million people were urged to evacuate coastal areas, officials described the evacuation as "probably the largest [...] we have ever achieved".

Numerous homes located outside the levee system were flooded by the storm surge, and 85 fishing camps on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain were destroyed. An estimated 160,000 residences were left without power due to Georges and severe beach erosion took place due to the slow movement of the hurricane. Precipitation statewide peaked at 2.98 inches (76 mm) in Bogalusa, and wind gusts reached 82 mph (132 km/h). In the wake of the hurricane, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opened 67 shelters throughout the state, and covered insurance claims totalling $14,150,532, including from Puerto Rico and Mississippi. The Clinton administration appropriated $56 million in disaster relief to regions in Louisiana for recovery from Tropical Storm Frances and Hurricane Georges. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Catarina near peak intensity on March 26, 2004. This image was taken from the International Space Station.

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The 2013 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation, in which tropical cyclones formed in the North Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The season had no official bounds, but cyclones typically formed between May and December, with the peak from October to 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...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2024): Hurricane Kirk; Tropical Depression Thirteen

East and Central Pacific (2024): Tropical Depression Eleven-E

West Pacific (2024): Typhoon Krathon (Julian)

North Indian Ocean (2024): No active systems

Mediterranean (2024–25): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2024–25): Moderate Tropical Storm Ancha

Australian region (2024–25): No active systems

South Pacific (2024–25): No active systems

South Atlantic (2024–25): No active systems

Last updated: 15:26, 2 October 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

October 1

1976 - Hurricane Liza brushed the south of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico at its peak intensity, killing over 600 people in La Paz.
1986 - Hurricane Paine (pictured) reaches peak intensity just before making landfall in Sonora.
2004 - Cyclone Onil becomes the first tropical cyclone to be named by the IMD within the North Indian Ocean basin.

October 2

1858 - The 1858 San Diego hurricane passed just to the west of San Diego, California, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds to the city. It is the only tropical cyclone ever recorded to directly affect the state as a hurricane.
2014 - Typhoon Phanfone (pictured) peaked as a Category 4 super typhoon, with 1-minute sustained winds of 255 km/h (155 mph), a few days before re-curving to Japan, and caused a total of $100 million in damage and killed 11 people.

October 3

1963 - Hurricane Flora reached its peak as a Category 4 hurricane with 225 km/h (140 mph) winds in the Caribbean Sea. Flora killed over 7,000 people, mostly in Cuba and Haiti as a result of excessive rainfall.
2015 - Hurricane Joaquin (pictured) reaches peak intensity as a high-end Category 4 hurricane, after impacting the Bahamas.

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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 1Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 2Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 3
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 4
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 5An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 6An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 7
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 8Broken 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 9Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 10
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 11
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 12A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 13The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 142017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 15Flooding 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 16The 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 17
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 18Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 19Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 20Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 21Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 22Tropical 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 23
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 24All 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 25The 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 26The 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 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 28Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 29Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 30Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 31Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 32The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 33Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 34Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)

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

Between 1900 and 1949, 108 Atlantic hurricanes have affected the U.S. state of Florida. Collectively, tropical cyclones in Florida during the time period resulted in about $4 billion (2008 USD) in damage. Additionally, tropical cyclones in Florida were directly responsible for about 3,550 fatalities during the time period, most of which from the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. The 1947 season was the year with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state, with a total of 6 systems. The 1905, 1908, 1913, 1927, 1931, 1942, and 1943 seasons were the only years during the time period in which a storm did not affect the Floridan coasts.

The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the time period was the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which also bears the distinction of being the strongest recorded hurricane to strike the United States. Several other major hurricanes struck the state during the time period, including the 1926 Miami hurricane, the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, and a cyclone each in 1945, 1947, 1948, and 1949. All of these storms made landfall as Category 4 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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