Portal:Tropical cyclones

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Atropical 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 condensationofwater 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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Alex at peak intensity, south of the Azores, on January 14

Hurricane Alex was the first Atlantic hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Aliceof1954–55. Alex originated as a non-tropical low near the Bahamas on January 7, 2016. Initially traveling northeast, the system passed by Bermuda on January 8 before turning southeast and deepening. It briefly acquired hurricane-force winds by January 10, then weakened slightly before curving towards the east and later northeast. Acquiring more tropical weather characteristics over time, the system transitioned into a subtropical cyclone well south of the Azores on January 12, becoming the first North Atlantic tropical or subtropical cyclone in January since Tropical Storm Zeta of 2005–2006. Alex continued to develop tropical features while turning north-northeast, and transitioned into a fully tropical cyclone on January 14. The cyclone peaked in strength as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale (SSHWS), with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a central pressure of 981 mbar (hPa; 28.97 inHg). Alex weakened to a high-end tropical storm before making landfallonTerceira Island on January 15. By that time, the storm was losing its tropical characteristics; it fully transitioned back into a non-tropical cyclone several hours after moving away from the Azores. Alex ultimately merged with another cyclone over the Labrador Sea on January 17.

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Hurricane Dorian making landfall in St. Croix on August 28

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This false-color satellite image of Hurricane Wilma was taken at 13:15 UTC on October 19, 2005, just hours after Wilma had intensified to become the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever observed with a pressure of 882 mbar. In this picture, Wilma has a 2 nautical mile wide eye, the smallest on record.

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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.

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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 (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: 18:07, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

Tropical cyclone anniversaries

July 17,

• 1983 - Typhoon Vera hit the Philippines with winds of 140 km/h (85 mph) before moving into the South China Sea. Vera killed over 100 people in the Philippines and on Hainan Island.
• 2016 - Cyclone Abela becomes a tropical storm, marking the fourth occurrence of a tropical cyclone existing in the southwest Indian Ocean during the month of July
• 2021 - Hurricane Felicia (pictured) - An unusually small Category 4 Hurricane that became the strongest storm of 2021 Pacific Hurricane Season in July.

July 18,

• 2005 - Typhoon Haitang made landfall on Taiwan, causing numerous landslides and flash floods across the island.
• 2014 - Typhoon Rammasun (pictured) reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 super typhoon, being one of only two Category 5 typhoons on record to exist in the South China Sea. Overall damages over in China and in the Philippines had totaled to $7.13 billion and killing nearly 200 people.

• July 19, 1978 - Hurricane Fico (pictured) passed to the south of Hawaii as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing heavy surf to the Big Island.

Did you know…

• …that the Joint Typhoon Warning Center considers that Typhoon Vera (pictured)of1986 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?

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  Image 1Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
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  Image 2

  Pacific hurricane
  (from Cyclone)
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  Image 3An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
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  Image 4

  South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
  (from Cyclone)
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  Image 5

  Atlantic hurricane
  (from Cyclone)
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  Image 6An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
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  Image 7

  Pacific typhoon
  (from Cyclone)
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  Image 8Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
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  Image 9Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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  Image 10The aftermath of Hurricane KatrinainGulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
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  Image 11A 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)
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  Image 12The 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)
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  Image 13All 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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  Image 14

  South Pacific cyclone
  (from Cyclone)
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  Image 15

  Australian region cyclone
  (from Cyclone)
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  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)
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  Image 17Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
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  Image 18The 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)
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  Image 19Broken concrete utility pole in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017, which ranks fourth in costliest US tropical cyclones. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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  Image 20Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
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  Image 21Tropical 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)
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  Image 222017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
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  Image 23Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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  Image 24The aftermath of Hurricane KatrinainGulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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  Image 25Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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  Image 26

  North Indian Ocean cyclone
  (from Cyclone)
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  Image 27Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
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  Image 28A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
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  Image 29Flooding 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)
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  Image 30Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
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  Image 31Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
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  Image 32Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
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  Image 33Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.

The British Overseas TerritoryofBermuda has a long history of encounters with Atlantic tropical cyclones, many of which inflicted significant damage and influenced the territory's development. A small archipelago comprising about 138 islands and islets, Bermuda occupies 21 square miles (54 km²) in the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly 650 miles (1,050 km) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The islands are situated far outside the Main Development Region for Atlantic hurricanes, but within the typical belt of recurving tropical cyclones. Most storms form in the central Atlantic or western Caribbean Sea before approaching Bermuda from the southwest; storms forming north of 28°N are unlikely to impact the territory.

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Related WikiProjects

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.

Things you can do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : WikiProject Tropical cyclones article requests Expand : Indianola Hurricane of 1886, Typhoon Nina (1975) Stubs : Expand Tropical cyclone stub articles Wikify : Make sure tropical cyclone lists, such as List of Texas hurricanes, have storm articles properly linked

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