Portal:Tropical cyclones

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Tropical Cyclones Portal

P:TC

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

Catarina approaching Brazil as a Category 1 hurricane on 27 March

Hurricane Catarina, or Cyclone Catarina (Portuguese pronunciation: [kataˈɾinɐ]) was an extraordinarily rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone that became the only hurricane-strength storm on record in the South Atlantic Ocean. Catarina made landfall in Southern Brazil at peak intensity, with the equivalent of Category 2 hurricane-force sustained winds, on 28 March 2004.

The storm developed out of a stationary cold-core upper-level trough on 12 March. Almost a week later, on 19 March, a disturbance developed along the trough and traveled towards the west-southwest until 22 March when a ridge stopped the forward motion of the disturbance. The disturbance was in an unusually favorable environment with a slightly below-average wind shear and above-average sea surface temperatures. The combination of the two led to a slow transition from an extratropical cyclone to a subtropical cyclone by 24 March. The storm continued to obtain tropical characteristics and became a tropical storm the next day while the winds steadily increased. The storm attained wind speeds of 121 km/h (75 mph)—equivalent to a low-end Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale—on 26 March. At that time, it was unofficially named Catarina and was also the first hurricane-strength tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Abnormally favorable conditions persisted, resulting in Catarina intensifying further, and it would peak with 1-minute sustained winds of 160 km/h (100 mph) on 28 March. The center of the storm made landfall between the cities of Passo de Torres and Balneário Gaivota, Santa Catarina soon after. Catarina rapidly weakened upon landfall and dissipated later that day. (Full article...)

List of selected named cyclones

Selected article - show another

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...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected image - show another

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.

More selected images

Selected season - show another

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...)

List of selected seasons

edit

Related portals

edit

Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2025): No active systems

East and Central Pacific (2025): No active systems

West Pacific (2025): No active systems

North Indian Ocean (2025): No active systems

Mediterranean (2024–25): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2024–25): Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi

Australian region (2024–25): Tropical Low 09U

South Pacific (2024–25): Tropical Cyclone Pita

South Atlantic (2024–25): No active systems

Last updated: 20:20, 10 January 2025 (UTC)

edit

Tropical cyclone anniversaries

January 10

1980 - Cyclone Amy struck the Western Australia coast as a Category 5 cyclone, causing over $2.7 million of damage.
1996 - Cyclone Bonita hit Madagascar and days later struck Mozambique, killing 42 people along its path.
2014 - Cyclone Ian (pictured) struck Tonga, causing $48 million in damage.

January 11

1979 - Typhoon Alice (pictured) reaches peak intensity as a Category 3 typhoon, causing extensive damages over in the Marshall Islands and in the Caroline Islands.
1983 - Cyclone Elinah passed through the Comoros islands between Madagascar and Mozambique. A large wave knocked 40 people in the water, killing 33 of them.

January 12

1988 - Typhoon Roy (pictured) moved through the Mariana Islands, causing heavy damage and destroying two homes.
1988 - Cyclone Anne struck New Caledonia, one of the strongest storms on record to strike the island; there were two deaths.

edit

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 recorded?
…that the typhoons of 2024—Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi, and Man-yi (pictured)—made history as the first recorded instance since 1951 of four tropical cyclones coexisting in November?
…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

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various tropical cyclone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 12017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 2
Atlantic hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 3Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 4Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 5The 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 6The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 7The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 8
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 9Broken 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 10
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 11Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 12Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 13A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 14
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 15All 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 16Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 17Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 18An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 19
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)
Image 20Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 21A 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 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 23Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 24Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 25
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 26Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 27The 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 28Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 29Tropical 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 30
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 31An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 32Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 33Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 34Flooding 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)

Featured list - show another

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

The 1983 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was the least active Atlantic hurricane season in 53 years, during which four storms formed. The season officially began on June 1, 1983 and ended November 30, 1983. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most systems form. The first named storm, Hurricane Alicia, formed on August 15. The last storm of the season, Tropical Storm Dean, dissipated on September 30.

This season produced seven tropical depressions, of which four became named storms; three attained hurricane status, of which one became a major hurricane, a storm that ranks as a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The most notable storm in 1983 was Hurricane Alicia, which killed 21 people and caused $2.6 billion (1983 USD; $5.6 billion 2008 USD) in damages, making it the costliest storm, at the time, in Texas history. As a result of its intensity, the name Alicia was subsequently retired from reuse in the North Atlantic by the World Meteorological Organization. Another notable storm, Hurricane Barry, made landfall on Florida as a tropical storm, then, after crossing into the Gulf of Mexico crossing, strengthened into a weak Category 1 hurricane that traveled almost due west across the Gulf before making landfall in extreme northern Mexico. (Full article...)

List of Featured lists

Topics

edit

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

edit

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.

edit