Portal:Tropical cyclones
The Tropical Cyclones Portal
![Hurricane Isabel in 2003 as seen from the International Space Station](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Hurricane_Isabel_from_ISS.jpg/220px-Hurricane_Isabel_from_ISS.jpg)
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 -
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the "brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 16 days, most of which was when the storm was over land dumping torrential rainfall. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, 2001, and struck the upper Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.
The storm dropped heavy rainfall along its path, peaking at over 40 inches (1,000 mm) in Texas. The worst flooding occurred in Houston, where most of Allison's damage occurred: 30,000 became homeless after the storm flooded over 70,000 houses and destroyed 2,744 homes. Downtown Houston was inundated with flooding, causing severe damage to hospitals and businesses. Twenty-three people died in Texas. Along its entire path, Allison caused $9 billion (2001 USD, $13.22 billion 2020 USD) in damage and 41 deaths. Aside from Texas, the places worst hit were Louisiana and southeastern Pennsylvania. (Full article...)Selected article -
The practice of using names to identify tropical cyclones goes back several centuries, with storms named after places, saints or things they hit before the formal start of naming in each basin. Examples of such names are the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane (also known as the "San Felipe II" hurricane) and the 1938 New England hurricane. The system currently in place provides identification of tropical cyclones in a brief form that is easily understood and recognized by the public. The credit for the first usage of personal names for weather systems is given to the Queensland Government Meteorologist Clement Wragge, who named tropical cyclones and anticyclones between 1887 and 1907. This system of naming fell into disuse for several years after Wragge retired, until it was revived in the latter part of World War II for the Western Pacific. Over the following decades, formal naming schemes were introduced for several tropical cyclone basins, including the North and South Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Western and Southern Pacific basins as well as the Australian region and Indian Ocean.
However, there has been controversy over the names used at various times, with names being dropped for religious and political reasons. Female names were exclusively used in the basins at various times between 1945 and 2000 and were the subject of several protests. At present tropical cyclones are officially named by one of eleven meteorological services and retain their names throughout their lifetimes. Due to the potential for longevity and multiple concurrent storms, the names reduce the confusion about what storm is being described in forecasts, watches and warnings. Names are assigned in order from predetermined lists once storms have one, three, or ten-minute sustained wind speeds of more than 65 km/h (40 mph), depending on which basin it originates in. Standards vary from basin to basin, with some tropical depressions named in the Western Pacific, while a significant amount of gale-force winds are required in the Southern Hemisphere. The names of significant tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Australian region are retired from the naming lists and replaced with another name, at meetings of the World Meteorological Organization's various tropical cyclone committees. (Full article...)Selected image -
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/1954_sounding_rocket_image_of_a_tropical_cyclone.jpg/420px-1954_sounding_rocket_image_of_a_tropical_cyclone.jpg)
Selected season -
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/2007_Atlantic_hurricane_season_summary_map.png/220px-2007_Atlantic_hurricane_season_summary_map.png)
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season since 2003 to feature tropical activity both before and after the official bounds of the season. There were an above-average number of named storms during the season – 15, however many storms were weak and short-lived. Despite the predominance of weak systems, this was the first season on record to feature more than one Category 5 landfalling hurricane. This would not happen again until 2017. It produced 17 tropical cyclones, 15 tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. It officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period during which most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, although as shown by Subtropical Storm Andrea and Tropical Storm Olga in early May and early December, respectively, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year. The first system, Subtropical Storm Andrea, developed on May 9, while the last storm, Tropical Storm Olga, dissipated on December 13. The most intense hurricane, Dean, was, at the time, the third most intense landfalling Atlantic storm on record. It was the second on record in which an Atlantic hurricane, Felix, and an eastern Pacific hurricane, Henriette, made landfall on the same day. September had a then record-tying eight storms, until it was surpassed in 2020. However, the strengths and durations of most of the storms were low.
Pre-season forecasts by Colorado State University called for 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes, of which three were expected to attain major hurricane status. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) later issued its initial forecast, which predicted 13 to 17 named storms, 7 to 10 hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes. After several revisions in the projected number of storms, NOAA and CSU lowered their forecasts by the middle of the season. (Full article...)Related portals
Currently active tropical cyclones
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/WPTC_Meteo_task_force.svg/72px-WPTC_Meteo_task_force.svg.png)
Italicized basins are unofficial.
- North Atlantic (2024)
- No active systems
- East and Central 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: 08:01, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Tropical cyclone anniversaries
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Conson_2021-09-06_0406Z.jpg/100px-Conson_2021-09-06_0406Z.jpg)
September 6
- 1776 - The 1776 Pointe-à-Pitre hurricane made landfall in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe killing about 6,000 people.
- 2021 - A rapidly-developing system at the time, Tropical Storm Conson (pictured) made landfall over Eastern Samar, Philippines. Conson killed 22 people in total.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Ivan_2004-09-11_1610Z.jpg/100px-Ivan_2004-09-11_1610Z.jpg)
September 7
- 1991 - Hurricane Claudette reaches peak intensity as a Category 4 major hurricane with winds of 215 km/h (130 mph) and a minimum pressure of 944 hPa.
- 2004 - Hurricane Ivan (pictured) passed just to the north of Grenada causing over $800 million of damage. Ivan caused a total of over $16 billion of damage, mostly in the United States.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/1900_Galveston_hurricane_track.png/100px-1900_Galveston_hurricane_track.png)
September 8
- 1900 - The 1900 Galveston hurricane (track pictured) struck Galveston, Texas, with winds in excess of 240 km/h (150 mph). The hurricane is the deadliest in the history of the United States and killed over 8,000 people.
- 1987 - Typhoon Gerald reaches peak intensity with 10-minute winds of 150 km/h (90 mph) and a minimum pressure of 950 hPa before making landfall in Taiwan which killed 127 people in total.
Did you know…
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Vera_Aug_22_1986_0600Z.png/100px-Vera_Aug_22_1986_0600Z.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Freddy_2023_path.png/100px-Freddy_2023_path.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Raquel_2015_track.png/100px-Raquel_2015_track.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Otis_2023-10-25_0431Z.png/100px-Otis_2023-10-25_0431Z.png)
- …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?
General images -
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/2010_Pacific_hurricane_season_summary_map.png/220px-2010_Pacific_hurricane_season_summary_map.png)
The 2010 Pacific hurricane season was one of the least active seasons on record, featuring the fewest named storms since 1977. The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific—east of 140°W—and on June 1 in the central Pacific—between the International Date Line and 140°W—and lasted until November 30. These dates typically cover the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the eastern Pacific basin. The season's first storm, Tropical Storm Agatha, developed on May 29; the season's final storm, Tropical Storm Omeka, degenerated on December 21.
The season began with record-breaking activity with four named storms, including two major hurricanes, developing by the end of June. Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) values exceeded 300 percent of the average for the month of June. Activity abruptly diminished thereafter, with July, August, and September seeing record low storm development. The Eastern Pacific season proper ended with Tropical Storm Georgette's dissipation on September 23, a month before the climatological mean. The year's final cyclone, Omeka, developed in the off-season on December 18, marking a record-late formation date in the satellite-era. Although there were relatively few storms, the season proved exceptionally deadly and destructive. Torrential rains associated with Agatha and Eleven-E killed well over 200 people in Central America and Mexico and left more than $1.5 billion in damage. (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 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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