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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Surigae nearing its peak intensity east of the Philippines on April 17

Typhoon Surigae, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Bising, was the strongest Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone to form in the first four months of the calendar year. The second named storm, first typhoon and first super typhoon of the 2021 Pacific typhoon season, Surigae was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2021.

The storm originated from a low-pressure area south of the Micronesian island of Woleai. The low organized into a tropical depression on April 12. At 18:00 UTC that day, it strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Surigae by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Very favorable environmental conditions then allowed Surigae to begin a bout of rapid intensification after becoming a typhoon on April 15; by April 17, the storm reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph), 1-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h (195 mph), and a minimum pressure of 895 hPa (26.4 inHg). Afterward, weakening outflow and an eyewall replacement cycle caused Surigae to gradually weaken as its track shifted north-northwestward in the Philippine Sea. Following the eyewall replacement cycle, Surigae became an annular tropical cyclone on April 19, and restrengthened slightly. On April 22, the storm began to rapidly weaken as it accelerated northwestward into unfavorable environmental conditions, transitioning into a subtropical storm the next day. The subtropical system subsequently underwent extratropical transition, which it completed by April 24. Three days later, Surigae's remnant explosively intensified into a bomb cyclone near the Aleutian Islands, attaining hurricane-force winds. Afterward, the system gradually weakened as it turned eastward, crossing the International Date Line on April 30 and fully dissipating that same day. (Full article...)

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The 1975 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1975, in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1975, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1975. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

The 1975 Pacific hurricane season was slightly above average, with 17 tropical storms forming. Of these, 9 became hurricanes, and 4 became major hurricanes by reaching Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The only notable storms are Hurricane Olivia, which killed 30 people, caused $30 million (1975 USD) in damage, and left thousands homeless when it made landfall in October; and an unnamed hurricane that developed at very high latitude, but had no effect on land. Hurricane Denise was the strongest storm of the year. Hurricanes Lily and Katrina passed close to Socorro Island and Tropical Storm Eleanor made landfall in Mexico. Hurricane Agatha sank a ship.

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Satellite image of Hurricane Rita in the central Gulf of Mexico while near peak intensity; within hours the hurricane would attain a minimum pressure of 895 mbar, which was the lowest recorded pressure on record in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The 1995 Pacific hurricane season had below average activity, the first season to do since 1979. The season saw eleven tropical cyclones form, of which ten became named tropical storms. Seven of these storms attained hurricane status, and three of them becoming major hurricanes. There were fewer tropical storms than the average of 16, while the number of hurricanes and major hurricanes were slightly below average. The season officially started on May 15, 1995, in the Eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1995, in the Central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1995. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Of the eleven tropical cyclones that formed during the season, four affected land, with the most notable storm of the season being Hurricane Ismael, which killed at least 116 people in Mexico. The strongest hurricane in the season was Hurricane Juliette, which reached peak winds of 150 mph (240 km/h), but did not significantly affect land. Hurricane Adolph was an early-season Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Henriette brushed the Baja California Peninsula in early September. (Full article...)

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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): Severe 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: 00:44, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

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.

July 29,

1982 - Typhoon Bess (pictured) reaches its peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). Bess impacted Japan which killed 95 people and damaged about US$2.3 billion.
2004 - Hurricane Darby reached its peak intensity with 195 km/h (120 mph) winds in the open Pacific Ocean. Darby later brought heavy rain to Hawaii.

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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 1The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 2Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 3Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
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 5Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 6The 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 7Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 8Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 10A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 11Flooding 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 12An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 13Wind 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 14Tropical 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 15Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 16Broken 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 17The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
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)
Image 19Hurricane Florence viewed from the International Space Station (from Cyclone)
Image 20An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 21Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 22Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 23Effects in Buncombe County, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene passed through the area in September 2024. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 24Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 25Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 26A 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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Since 1854, at least 106 tropical cyclones affected the U.S. state of California, including a hurricane in 1858 that produced hurricane-force winds near San Diego. This averages to roughly once a year, although events are more likely during El Niño events. Although storms have occurred as early as June and as late as October, they are most likely during the month of September. Due to cold sea surface temperatures and the typical track of most Pacific hurricanes, there has only been one recorded landfall of a tropical storm in the state – a storm in 1939 that hit Los Angeles, killing 45 people after catching many residents off guard. There have been at least 13 other deadly tropical cyclones affecting California. (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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