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 Seroja approaching Western Australia on 11 April

Severe Tropical Cyclone Seroja was the third-deadliest tropical cyclone on record in the Australian region, behind Cyclone Mahina in 1899 and the Flores cyclone in 1973. Seroja brought historic flooding and landslides to portions of southern Indonesia and East Timor and later went on to make landfall in Western Australia's Mid West region, becoming the first to do so since Cyclone Elaine in 1999. The twenty-second tropical low, seventh tropical cyclone, and third severe tropical cyclone of the 2020–21 Australian region cyclone season, the precursor of Seroja formed off the south coast of Timor island as Tropical Low 22U at 18:00 UTC on 3 April 2021; its genesis was related to convectively coupled equatorial waves. The tropical low moved very slowly near the island, while the system's thunderstorms increased in organization. The low intensified into Tropical Cyclone Seroja by 4 April, while it was passing north of Rote Island, while continuing its slow strengthening trend.

Due to the presence of Tropical Cyclone Odette in Seroja's vicinity, interaction was anticipated as the storm moved away from Indonesia and East Timor. Its intensity fluctuated as it moved southwest, with its strengthening being highly hindered due to interaction with Odette. This caused the system to weaken as Seroja moved closer to it, due to a phenomenon known as the Fujiwhara effect. Eventually, Seroja began to restrengthen and weaken Odette, with Seroja absorbing Odette into its circulation on 10 April. Due to Odette, Seroja was steered to the southeast towards Australia, before strengthening even further. At around 8 p.m. local time on 11 April, Seroja made landfall on the western coastline of Western Australia as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, slightly south of the coastal town of Kalbarri, bringing heavy rain and hurricane-force wind gusts (about 170 km/h, or 110 mph). Later that day, Seroja began accelerating southeastward while weakening. On 12 April, Seroja emerged off the southern coast of Western Australia while beginning to undergo an extratropical transition, before being absorbed into another larger extratropical cyclone to the south. The name Seroja means lotus in Indonesian. (Full article...)

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Paleotempestology is the study of past tropical cyclone activity by means of geological proxies as well as historical documentary records. The term was coined by American meteorologist Kerry Emanuel.

The usual approach in paleotempestology is the identification of deposits left by storms. Most commonly, these are overwash deposits in waterbodies close to the coast; other means are oxygen isotope ratio variations caused by tropical cyclone rainfall in trees or speleothems (cave deposits), and identifying beach ridges kicked up by storm waves. The occurrence rate of tropical cyclones can then be inferred from these deposits and sometimes also their intensity – typically the stronger events are the most easily recognizable ones –, by comparing them to deposits left by historical events. (Full article...)

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A boarded up flooded out home in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, 2005

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The 1994 Pacific hurricane season was the final season of the eastern north Pacific's consecutive active hurricane seasons that started in 1982. The season officially started on May 15, 1994, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1994, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1994. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The first tropical cyclone formed on June 18, while the last system dissipated on October 26. This season, twenty-two tropical cyclones formed in the north Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, with all but two becoming tropical storms or hurricanes. A total of 10 hurricanes occurred, including five major hurricanes. The above average activity in 1994 was attributed to the formation of the 1994–95 El Niño.

Of note in this season is an unusual spree of very intense storms; the season was the first on record to see three Category 5 hurricanes, later tied in 2002 and 2018. Hurricanes Emilia, Gilma, John, and Olivia all reached a pressure below 930 millibars. Hurricane John was the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone on record at 13,180 km (8,190 mi). Elsewhere, Hurricane Rosa caused four casualties in Mexico as the basin's only landfalling tropical storm or hurricane, and later was responsible for flooding in Texas. (Full article...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2024): Hurricane Debby

East and Central Pacific (2024): Hurricane Carlotta; Tropical Storm Daniel; Tropical Storm Emilia; Tropical Storm Fabio

West Pacific (2024): No active systems

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: 16:11, 5 August 2024 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

August 4,

2002 - Tropical Storm Kammuri made landfall to the east of Shanwei, China killing over 100 people.
2015 - Typhoon Soudelor (pictured) reaches peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h (130 mph) and a pressure of 900 hPa. Soudelor impacted China and caused $3.72 billion in damages and killed 40 people.

August 5,

1982 - Hurricane John (pictured) reaches Category 3 major hurricane intensity with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) while entering the Central Pacific basin.
1990 - Hurricane Diana made its first landfall on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula as a tropical storm. Diana killed 139 people and caused about $90 million of damage in Mexico.

August 6,

1959 - Hurricane Dot made landfall on the island of Kauai, Hawaii as a Category 1 hurricane, causing about $6 million of damage throughout the state.
2009 - Hurricane Felicia (track pictured) reaches peak intensity with winds of 230 km/h (145 mph) and a minimum pressure of 935 hPa. Felicia affected Hawaii after a few days causing minor damages.

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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 1Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 2
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 3The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 4The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 5Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 6The 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 7Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 8Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 9
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 10An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 11All 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 12Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 13A 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 14Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 15The 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 16
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 17An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 18
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 19Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 20A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 21Flooding 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 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 23Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 24Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 252017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 26
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 27Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 28
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 29The 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 30Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 31Broken 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 32
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 33Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 34Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.

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

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...)

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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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