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

Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day 1974

Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small, developing, easterly storm was originally expected to pass clear of the city, but it would turn towards it early on 24 December. After 10:00 p.m. ACST, damage became severe, with wind gusts reaching 217 km/h (117 kn; 135 mph) before instruments failed. The anemometer in Darwin Airport control tower had its needle bent in half by the strength of the gusts.

Residents of Darwin were celebrating Christmas, and they did not immediately acknowledge the emergency, partly because they had been alerted to an earlier cyclone (Selma) which passed west of the city, not affecting it in any way. Additionally, news outlets had only a skeleton crew on duty over the holiday. (Full article...)

List of selected named cyclones

Selected article - show another

The cyclone on 29 October at its record peak intensity, as it made landfall on Odisha

The 1999 Odisha cyclone (IMD designation BOB 06, JTWC designation 05B) was the most intense recorded tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean and among the most destructive in the region. The 1999 Odisha cyclone organized into a tropical depression in the Andaman Sea on 25 October, though its origins could be traced back to an area of convection in the Sulu Sea four days prior. The disturbance gradually strengthened as it took a west-northwesterly path, reaching cyclonic storm strength the next day. Aided by highly favorable conditions, the storm rapidly intensified, attaining super cyclonic storm intensity on 28 October, before peaking on the next day with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph) and a record-low pressure of 912 mbar (hPa; 26.93 inHg). The storm maintained this intensity as it made landfall on Odisha on 29 October. The cyclone steadily weakened due to persistent land interaction and dry air, remaining quasi-stationary for two days before slowly drifting offshore as a much weaker system; the storm dissipated on 4 November over the Bay of Bengal.

Although its primary effects were felt in a localized area of India, the outer fringes of the super cyclone impacted Myanmar and Bangladesh. Ten people were killed in the former, while two were killed in the latter by the storm's rainbands. The storm was the most severe to strike Odisha in the 20th century, raking the state and adjacent areas with high storm surge, powerful winds, and torrential rainfall. The storm's impacts exacerbated the damage caused by a very severe cyclone that struck the same region less than two weeks earlier. The 5–6 m (16–20 ft) surge brought water up to 35 km (20 mi) inland, carrying along with it coastal debris and inundating towns and villages. The surge combined with heavy rains to produce widespread flooding, damaging around 1.6 million homes and causing rivers to breach 20,005 flood embankments. The storm's effects destroyed numerous crops, including sugar cane, rice, and other winter-time harvests. Although estimates of the death toll varied significantly—at times suggesting 30,000 fatalities—the Government of India enumerated 9,887 fatalities in the country, of which a majority were caused by storm surge; over 8,000 deaths occurred in Jagatsinghpur. The total damage cost of the destruction wrought by the super cyclone amounted to US$4.44 billion. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected image - show another

This is a photomosaic of the first natural color images of the Earth successfully taken from a high-altitude rocket. It image shows a large swathe of land to the south and east of the launch site and a tropical cyclone is visible over Del Rio, Texas. This image is also the first ever taken from a sufficient altitude to show the large scale structure of a storm and hints at the promise of meteorological satellites. The rocket was a US Navy sounding rocket launched at 1815 GMT on October 5, 1954 from White Sands, New Mexico and it was at an altitude of about 100 miles when this image was captured. There is a paper available describing this rocket launch and the associated imagery in the Monthly Weather Review.

More selected images

Selected season - show another

The 2002 Pacific hurricane season was a near–average season which produced fifteen named storms. Eight hurricanes formed, including a record-equaling three Category 5 hurricanes, a record it shares with the 1994 and 2018 seasons. It was also a near-average season in terms of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), having an ACE of 125. The season officially began on May 15, 2002 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1, 2002 in the Central Pacific; both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclone formation occurs in these regions of the Pacific. The first system of the 2002 season, Hurricane Alma, formed on May 24, and the last, Tropical Depression Sixteen-E, dissipated on November 16.

The strongest hurricane of the season, Kenna, formed on October 22 and peaked as a Category 5 hurricane two days later. Land impact was relatively significant. Kenna made landfall near Puerto Vallarta, located in the Mexican state of Jalisco on October 25, killing four people. Kenna was, at the time, the second-most powerful hurricane to ever strike the western coast of Mexico, hitting with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h), as well as the strongest landfall in terms of windspeed until Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Julio made landfall in Mexico, and Tropical Storm Boris dumped torrential rain along the Mexican coast, despite remaining offshore. Hurricanes Elida and Hernan also reached Category 5 intensity, but neither caused any damage. Damage across the basin reached $101.23 million (2002 USD), while 7 people were killed by Julio and Kenna. (Full article...)

List of selected seasons

edit

Related portals

edit

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): Tropical Storm Yagi (Enteng)

North Indian Ocean (2024): Cyclonic Storm Asna

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: 10:24, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

edit

Tropical cyclone anniversaries

September 4

1930 - The 1930 Dominican Republic hurricane made landfall on the island of Hispaniola, killing between 2,000 and 8,000 people, mostly in the Dominican Republic.
2007 - Hurricane Felix (pictured) made landfall over in Belize as a Category 5 major hurricane, with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). Total fatalities were reported at 130 people and damages up to $720 million (2007 USD).

September 5

1964 - Typhoon Ruby struck Hong Kong with wind gusts of 268 km/h (166 mph), killing 734 people across southeastern China.
2004 - Hurricane Frances made landfall in southern Florida just three weeks after Hurricane Charley had affected the state. Frances caused about $10 billion in damages.
2017 - Hurricane Irma (pictured) reached peak intensity, with winds of 180 miles per hour (290 km/h), the highest-recorded winds in the open Atlantic, while making landfall in Barbuda. Overall, after impacting the Caribbean and Florida, Irma killed a total of 109 people, and caused a total of $64.76 billion (2018 USD) in damages, becoming the fifth-costliest hurricane on record.

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.

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 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?

Did you know archive

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1The 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 2A 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 3Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4All 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 5
Atlantic hurricane
(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 7
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 8The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 9Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 10Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 11
South Pacific cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 12
Australian region cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 13Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 14Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 152017 Atlantic hurricane season summary map (from Cyclone)
Image 16Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 17Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 18Flooding 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 19Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 20
Pacific typhoon
(from Cyclone)
Image 21Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
Image 22Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 23Several cyclones on the dynamic north pole of Jupiter, imaged by Juno (from Cyclone)
Image 24The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 25The 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 26Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 27Tropical 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 28Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 29An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 30A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (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 32An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 33
North Indian Ocean cyclone
(from Cyclone)
Image 34
Pacific hurricane
(from Cyclone)

Featured list - show another

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

Map of tornadoes and tornado warnings associated with Isaias in the U.S.

As Hurricane Isaias moved up the East Coast of the United States, a damaging outbreak of 39 tornadoes impacted areas from South Carolina to Connecticut between August 3–4, 2020. The most significant tornado of the outbreak was a large and intense EF3 tornado that obliterated a mobile home park near Windsor, North Carolina, killing two and injuring 14. This was the strongest tornado in the United States to be spawned by a tropical cyclone since 2005. In the end, the outbreak killed two and injured 26. (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