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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.

Selected named cyclone - show another

Cyclone Zoe near peak intensity on December 27

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zoe was the second-most intense tropical cyclone on record within the Southern Hemisphere and was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2002. The system was first noted on December 23, 2002, as a tropical depression that had developed, within the South Pacific Convergence Zone to the east of Tuvalu. Over the next couple of days, the system moved southwestwards and crossed the International Dateline early on December 25. After this, the system became better organized and was declared to be a tropical cyclone and named Zoe later that day. Zoe subsequently rapidly intensified in very favorable conditions as it continued to move west-southwest towards the Solomon Islands. The system subsequently became a Category 5 tropical cyclone on both the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale and the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale on December 27. The system subsequently affected the Solomon Islands Temotu Province during that day, before it peaked with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 240 km/h (150 mph). As the system peaked, it performed a small clockwise cyclonic loop within the vicinity of Tikopia island, as a result of the steering flow over the cyclone becoming weak and variable. The system subsequently started to move towards the southeast during December 29, in response to a strengthening steering flow, provided by an upper level trough of low pressure and a baroclinic system near New Caledonia. Over the next few days the system weakened and degenerated into a tropical depression during January 1, 2003. The system was subsequently last noted during January 4, while it was located to the southeast of New Caledonia.

Cyclone Zoe severely affected areas of Rotuma, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Heavy rainfall and strong winds were particularly disastrous to the Solomon Islands, especially on the islands of Anuta and Tikopia. There, numerous crops and fruit–bearing trees were destroyed. Beaches were also heavily eroded due to the high waves generated by the cyclone. Although effects were lesser in Vanuatu, the country's northernmost islands experienced heavy flooding and beaches destroyed by high waves. After this usage of the name Zoe, the name was retired. (Full article...)

List of selected named cyclones

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Surface weather analysis of the hurricane on July 27, near peak intensity.

The 1943 Surprise Hurricane was the first hurricane to be entered by a reconnaissance aircraft. The first tracked tropical cyclone of the 1943 Atlantic hurricane season, this system developed as a tropical storm while situated over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on July 25. The storm gradually strengthened while tracking westward and reached hurricane status late on July 26. Thereafter, the hurricane curved slightly west-northwestward and continued intensifying. Early on July 27, it became a Category 2 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale and peaked with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). The system maintained this intensity until landfall on the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas late on July 27. After moving inland, the storm initially weakened rapidly, but remained a tropical cyclone until dissipating over north-central Texas on July 29.

Because the storm occurred during World War II, information and reports were censored by the government of the United States and news media. Advisories also had to be cleared through the Weather Bureau office in New Orleans, resulting in late releases. This in turn delayed preparations ahead of the storm. In Louisiana, the storm produced gusty winds and heavy rains, though no damage occurred. The storm was considered the worst in Texas since the 1915 Galveston hurricane. Wind gusts up to 132 mph (212 km/h) were reported in the Galveston-Houston area. Numerous buildings and houses were damaged or destroyed. The storm caused 19 fatalities, 14 of which occurred after two separate ships sank. Overall, damage reached approximately $17 million (equivalent to $299 million in 2023). (Full article...)

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Cyclone Inigo near peak intensity, as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian region scale, with 10-minute sustained winds of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) and 1-minute sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (260 km/h). This image was taken from by one of NASA's EOSDIS satellites on April 4, 2003, while the cyclone was to the south of Indonesia.

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The 2019 Pacific hurricane season was an above average season which produced nineteen named storms, most of which were rather weak and short-lived. Only seven hurricanes formed, the fewest since 2010. The season officially began on May 15 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; they both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Pacific basin. This season was one of the latest-starting Pacific hurricane seasons on record (reliable records began in 1971), with the first tropical cyclone, Hurricane Alvin, forming on June 25. The final system, Tropical Depression Twenty-One-E, dissipated on November 18.

The season had a rather slow start, with no cyclones forming in the basin before the month of June for the first time since 2011. The strongest hurricane of the season, Barbara, formed on June 30 and peaked as a high-end Category 4 hurricane on July 3. August was extremely quiet with no hurricanes forming during the month, a first for a season since 1973. September was much more active with six systems developing, of which three became hurricanes. Activity decreased appreciably in October and November as most of the storms remained weak and short-lived. (Full article...)

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Related portals

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): No active systems

North Indian Ocean (2024): No active systems

Mediterranean (2023–24): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2023–24): No active systems

Australian region (2023–24): No active systems

South Pacific (2023–24): No active systems

South Atlantic (2023–24): No active systems

Last updated: 07:55, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

Tropical cyclone anniversaries

June 26,

1989 - Tropical Storm Allison hit Texas; associated flooding caused about $560 million of damage and 11 deaths.
2008 - Cyclone Yemyin (pictured) moved ashore southern Pakistan; heavy rainfall killed hundreds of people, including 730 people in Pakistan alone.

June 27,

1957 - Hurricane Audrey (pictured), the only Category 4 Atlantic hurricane to exist in the month of June, made landfall on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Audrey killed at least 390 people and caused over $150 million of damage.
2003 - Tropical Storm Carlos brushes the coast of Southwestern Mexico, causing about $8 million in damages.
2011 - Tropical Depression Meari makes landfall over in North Korea after killing a total of 11 people.

June 28, 1966 - Typhoon Kit (track pictured) passed just to the east of Honshu, Japan killing at least 44 people.

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

General images - load new batch

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 2Tropical 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 3Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 5
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 6Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 7
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 8The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 10The 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 11Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 12Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 13Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 14
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 15Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 16
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 17A 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 18Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 19An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
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 22The 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 23The 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 24Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 25Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 26A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 27The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 28
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 29Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 302017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
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 32Flooding 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 33All 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)

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

The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was the costliest, as well as the first above-average, Atlantic hurricane season since the 2012 season. It featured the highest number of deaths since the 2008 season and also yielded the highest number of named storm landfalls on the United States since that year. The season officially began on June 1 and concluded on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period during each year when a majority of tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The season's first cyclone, Alex, developed on January 12, while the final storm of the season, Otto, closed-out the season by exiting into the Eastern Pacific on November 25, becoming the first Atlantic–Pacific crossover hurricane since Hurricane Cesar–Douglas in 1996.

A total of 16 tropical depressions were recorded, of which 15 further intensified into tropical storms. Of those 15, a total of seven strengthened into hurricanes, while four attained their peaks as major hurricanes. Activity began with Alex which, upon making landfall in the Azores, became the first January landfalling tropical cyclone since Hurricane Alice in the 1954 season. In June, tropical storms Colin and Danielle became the earliest third and fourth named storms, respectively, on record. Hermine moved ashore the coastline of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on September 2, ending the record hurricane drought that began in the state after the 2005 season's Hurricane Wilma. In late September and early October, Hurricane Matthew wrought destruction throughout the Caribbean Sea and Southeastern United States, resulting in $15.09 billion (2016 USD) in damage and 603 deaths. In mid-October, Hurricane Nicole developed to Category 4 intensity and remained a major hurricane while directly impacting Bermuda, the first storm of such strength to do so since Hurricane Fabian in the 2003 season. Following the 2016 season, the names Matthew and Otto were retired from reuse in the North Atlantic by the World Meteorological Organization. (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.