Portal:Tropical cyclones

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.

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Typhoon Yagi at its initial peak intensity over the South China Sea on September 5

Typhoon Yagi was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in Southeast Asia and South China in early September 2024. Known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Enteng and in Vietnam as Typhoon No. 3 of 2024 (Vietnamese: Bão số 3 năm 2024), Yagi is the eleventh named storm, the first violent typhoon, and the first super typhoon of the 2024 Pacific typhoon season. Additionally, it is the strongest typhoon in 70 years to strike Vietnam according to the country's government, the strongest typhoon to strike China during the meteorological autumn, and one of the four Category 5-equivalent super typhoons recorded in the South China Sea. Yagi is also the second most intense tropical cyclones worldwide in 2024, behind Hurricane Milton in the Atlantic.

Yagi originated from a low-pressure area that formed on August 30, approximately 540 km (330 mi) northwest of Palau. On September 1, the system was classified as a tropical storm and named Yagi by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). After making landfall over Casiguran, Aurora, in the Philippines, on September 2, Yagi weakened as it moved inland through the rugged terrain of the Cordillera Central in Luzon. It later emerged over the South China Sea and began merging with a secondary circulation west of Lingayen Gulf, with its deep convection starting to wrap and develop convective bands extending west and south. On September 5, the JMA reported that the storm reached its peak intensity with ten-minute maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a central pressure of 915 hPa (27.02 inHg). It initially peaked as a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with one-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). After weakening due to an eyewall replacement cycle, Yagi rapidly reintensified to a second Category 5 peak with one-minute sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph), thus becoming the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the South China Sea and the only tropical cyclone to intensify to Category 5 twice in this body. After peak intensity, Yagi began weakening before making landfall near Wenchang of China's Hainan Province on September 6. Yagi passed over northern Hainan and directly over Haikou, before moving into the open waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. It made landfall over Haiphong and Quảng Ninh, Vietnam, on September 7 and moved southwestward inland until it was last noted on September 9. (Full article...)

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A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least 119 km/h (74 mph). This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for almost one third of the world's tropical cyclones. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions: the eastern (North America to 140°W), central (140°W to 180°), and western (180° to 100°E). The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for tropical cyclone forecasts is in Japan, with other tropical cyclone warning centres for the northwest Pacific in Hawaii (the Joint Typhoon Warning Center), the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Although the RSMC names each system, the main name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have territories threatened by typhoons each year.

Within most of the northwestern Pacific, there are no official typhoon seasons as tropical cyclones form throughout the year. Like any tropical cyclone, there are several main requirements for typhoon formation and development. It must be in sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures, atmospheric instability, high humidity in the lower-to-middle levels of the troposphere, have enough Coriolis effect to develop a low pressure centre, a pre-existing low level focus or disturbance, and a low vertical wind shear. Although the majority of storms form between June and November, a few storms may occur between December and May (although tropical cyclone formation is very rare during that time). On average, the northwestern Pacific features the most numerous and intense tropical cyclones globally. Like other basins, they are steered by the subtropical ridge towards the west or northwest, with some systems recurving near and east of Japan. The Philippines receive the brunt of the landfalls, with China and Japan being less often impacted. However, some of the deadliest typhoons in history have struck China. Southern China has the longest record of typhoon impacts for the region, with a thousand-year sample via documents within their archives. Taiwan has received the wettest known typhoon on record for the northwest Pacific tropical cyclone basins. However, Vietnam recognises its typhoon season as lasting from the beginning of June through to the end of November, with an average of four to six typhoons hitting the country annually. (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 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season had the earliest named storm since 1992. Many storms formed in the north-east portion of the basin, and several more originated around Australia. The basin is defined as the waters of the Indian Ocean west of longitude 90°E to the coast of Africa and south of the equator. Eleven tropical storms formed, compared to an average of nine. Tropical systems were present during 73 days, which was significantly higher than the average of 58 for this basin.

Tropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Réunion. The season started on November 1, 2001, and ended on April 30, 2002; for Mauritius and the Seychelles, the season continued until May 15. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the basin; however, storms formed both before and after the designated season. The first storm was Andre, which emerged from the Australian basin as Tropical Cyclone Alex in late October. The strongest storm, Cyclone Hary, was the first very intense tropical cyclone since 2000; it hit Madagascar, where it caused lighter damage than expected but three deaths. In January, Cyclone Dina left heavy damage in the Mascarene Islands, particularly on Réunion, where it dropped 2,102 mm (82.8 in) of rainfall. The second-to-last storm was Cyclone Kesiny, which killed 33 people when it struck Madagascar in the midst of a political crisis.

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2026): No active systems

East and Central Pacific (2026): Hurricane Fausto; Hurricane Genevieve

West Pacific (2026): Tropical Storm Dolphin

North Indian Ocean (2026): Deep Depression BOB 03

Mediterranean (2026–27): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2026–27): No active systems

Australian region (2026–27): No active systems

South Pacific (2026–27): No active systems

South Atlantic (2026–27): No active systems

Last updated: 07:15, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

July 26, 1926 - The 1926 Nassau hurricane (track pictured) reached its peak intensity with winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) over the central Bahamas. The hurricane killed 287 people and devastated Nassau.

July 27

1862 - A typhoon made landfall near Hong Kong, killing 80,000 people.
1943 - A US Air Force pilot flew his North American T-6 Texan trainer directly into a hurricane off the Gulf Coast of the United States, making it the first hurricane entered by reconnaissance aircraft.
2011 - Tropical Storm Nock-ten (pictured) makes landfall over in Luzon, Philippines where it killed 75 people with damages of US$65.7 million in the country alone.

July 28,

1996 - Hurricane Cesar–Douglas made landfall in Nicaragua. Cesar killed 67 people and caused over $39 million of damage.
2008 - Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall over Taiwan as a Category 2 typhoon, which killed 23 people and have damages of over $500 million.
2023 - Typhoon Doksuri (pictured) made landfall in southern China, becoming the costliest Pacific typhoon on record after $28.4 billion in damage.

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Did you know…

…that the first recorded instance of two tropical cyclones holding category 5 status, on the Saffir–Simpson scale, simultaneously was on September 11th of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season, with typhoons Pamela and Nancy (pictured)?
…that the Australian region have three distinct lists of names for tropical storms, each one of them being administered by agencies in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, respectively?
…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?

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

Image 1Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 2Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 3Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4The 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 5The 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 6Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 7Hurricane Florence viewed from the International Space Station (from Cyclone)
Image 8Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 10A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 11Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 12The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 13Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 14Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 15Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 16The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 17Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 18All 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 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)
Image 20Effects in Buncombe County, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene passed through the area in September 2024. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 21Wind damage varies exponentially with wind speed, so that small increases in wind strength can dramatically increase damage. Damages rise by about a factor of four for every category increase in the Saffir–Simpson scale. (from Cyclone)
Image 22An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 23A 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 24Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 25Flooding 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 26Tropical 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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This is a featured list, which represents some of the best list articles on English Wikipedia.

The list of North Carolina hurricanes before 1900 encompasses 139 tropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of North Carolina. Collectively, cyclones in North Carolina during the time period resulted in over 775 direct fatalities during the period. Seven cyclones affected the state in the 1893 season, which was the year with the most tropical cyclones impacting the state during the time period. From the beginning of the official North Atlantic hurricane record in 1851 to 1899, there were 12 years without a known tropical cyclone affecting the state. The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the official record was the San Ciriaco hurricane of 1899, which struck the state with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h), although the 1821 Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane may have been stronger.

Historical data prior to 1700 is sparse due to lack of significant European settlements along the coastline; the few storms listed are largely records from Roanoke Colony and later the Province of Carolina. Modern meteorologists believe early storms were tropical cyclones, though due to the time period confirmation is impossible. One theory explaining the disappearance of Roanoke Colony suggests a hurricane destroyed the village, though there is no evidence to prove the theory. It is considered unlikely due to lack of damage to a fence around the village, on which the villagers left an inscription. (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.

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