Portal:Tropical cyclones
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The Tropical Cyclones Portal
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
Typhoon Dot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Saling, was the strongest storm of the 1985 season. Dot originated from a small area of thunderstorm activity in early to mid October. The system was first classified on October 11, and steadily intensified over the next few days. Dot attained typhoon strength on October 15, and subsequently entered a period of explosive deepening, which was not anticipated by forecasters. The next day the intensification rate slowed, but that evening, Dot attained its maximum intensify. A steady weakening trend began on October 17, though the system maintained typhoon intensity through the passage of the Philippines. After entering the South China Sea late on October 18, Dot briefly re-intensified, only to weaken as it approached Vietnam. On October 21, Dot struck Vietnam while still a typhoon, but dissipated the next day over the high terrain of the nation.
Although damage across the Philippines was less than initially expected, the typhoon lashed the nation with heavy rains. Province of Nueva Ecija suffered the worst effects from Dot. There, 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) of crops and 90% of all buildings were damaged. In Cabanatuan, 2,500 homes and 90% of structures were destroyed. Overall, 42 towns were flooded, forcing a total of 125,000 people to flee their homes, 35,000 of which were homeless. Furthermore, 52,933 houses were leveled while an additional 200,450 were damaged. Nationwide, 24 were hurt. While tracking through the South China Sea, Dot passed through Hainan Island. There, two casualties occurred while 34 others suffered injuries. Across the island, over 2,300 dwellings were destroyed. In all, Dot was responsible for 90 deaths and $104.9 million (1985 USD) in damage. (Full article...)Selected article - show another
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, often referred to as Mediterranean cyclones or Mediterranean hurricanes, and shortened as medicanes, are meteorological phenomena occasionally observed over the Mediterranean Sea. On a few rare occasions, some storms have been observed reaching the strength of a Category 1 hurricane, on the Saffir–Simpson scale, and Cyclone Ianos in 2020 was recorded reaching Category 2 intensity. The main societal hazard posed by medicanes is not usually from destructive winds, but through life-threatening torrential rains and flash floods.
The occurrence of medicanes has been described as not particularly rare. Tropical-like systems were first identified in the Mediterranean basin in the 1980s, when widespread satellite coverage showing tropical-looking low pressures which formed a cyclonic eye in the center were identified. Due to the dry nature of the Mediterranean region, the formation of tropical, subtropical cyclones and tropical-like cyclones is infrequent and also hard to detect, in particular with the reanalysis of past data. Depending on the search algorithms used, different long-term surveys of satellite era and pre-satellite era data came up with 67 tropical-like cyclones of tropical storm intensity or higher between 1947 and 2014, and around 100 recorded tropical-like storms between 1947 and 2011. More consensus exists about the long term temporal and spatial distribution of tropical-like cyclones: they form predominantly over the western and central Mediterranean Sea while the area east of Crete is almost devoid of tropical-like cyclones. The development of tropical-like cyclones can occur year-round, with activity historically peaking between the months of September and January, while the counts for the summer months of June and July are the lowest, being within the peak dry season of the Mediterranean with stable air. (Full article...)Selected image - show another
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The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of number of systems. It featured a total of 31 tropical or subtropical cyclones, with all but one cyclone becoming a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 developed into hurricanes, and a record-tying seven further intensified into major hurricanes. It was the second and final season to use the Greek letter storm naming system, the first being 2005, the previous record. Of the 30 named storms, 11 of them made landfall in the contiguous United States, breaking the record of nine set in 1916. During the season, 27 tropical storms established a new record for earliest formation date by storm number. This season also featured a record ten tropical cyclones that underwent rapid intensification, tying it with 1995, as well as tying the record for most Category 4 hurricanes in a singular season in the Atlantic Basin. This unprecedented activity was fueled by a La Niña that developed in the summer months of 2020, continuing a stretch of above-average seasonal activity that began in 2016. Despite the record-high activity, this was the first season since 2015 in which no Category 5 hurricanes formed.
The season officially started on June 1 and officially ended on November 30. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the early formation of Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha, on May 16 and 27, respectively. This was the sixth consecutive year with a pre-season system and the second of these seasons to have two, with the other being 2016. The first hurricane, Hurricane Hanna, made landfall in Texas on July 25. Hurricane Isaias formed on July 31, and made landfall in The Bahamas and North Carolina in early August, both times as a Category 1 hurricane; Isaias caused $4.8 billion in damage overall. In late August, Laura made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone on record in terms of wind speed to make landfall in the state, alongside the 1856 Last Island hurricane and Ida. Laura caused at least $19 billion in damage and 77 deaths. September was the most active month on record in the Atlantic, with ten named storms. Slow-moving Hurricane Sally impacted the United States Gulf Coast, causing severe flooding. The Greek alphabet was used for only the second time, starting on September 17 with Subtropical Storm Alpha, which made landfall in Portugal on the following day. (Full article...)Related portals
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)
- No active systems
- North Indian Ocean (2024)
- No active systems
- Mediterranean (2023–24)
- No active systems
- South-West Indian Ocean (2023–24)
- No active systems
- Australian region (2023–24)
- Tropical Low 15U
- South Pacific (2023–24)
- No active systems
- South Atlantic (2023–24)
- No active systems
Last updated: 04:38, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
Tropical cyclone anniversaries
April 27
- 1974 - Tropical Storm Babe passed just to the east of Guam before hitting Saipan as a developing system.
- 1995 - As a tropical depression, Tropical Storm Chuck (pictured) develops out over in the Marshall Islands causing only minor damage.
April 28
- 1973 - An unnamed cyclone, sometimes called Cyclone Flores, rapidly strengthened into a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone in the Banda Sea of Indonesia. The storm killed 1,653 people, becoming the deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.
- 2006 - Cyclone Mala (pictured) reached its peak intensity, with a minimum central pressure of 954 hPa (mbar) in the Bay of Bengal. Mala struck Burma soon after, killing 22 people.
April 29
- 1892 - A cyclone struck Mauritius with gusts to 216 km/h (134 mph); much of the island was destroyed, with 1,200 fatalities and 50,000 people left homeless.
- 1991 - A powerful cyclone (pictured) made landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh killing 138,866 people and causing $1.5 billion worth of damage.
- 2014 - Typhoon Tapah reached peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) while affecting the Mariana Islands.
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 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?
General images - load new batch
- Image 1Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
- Image 2Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
- Image 6An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
- Image 8The 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 10A 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 14Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
- Image 15Hurricane Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 (from Cyclone)
- Image 16Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (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 19The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
- Image 20Broken 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 21Flooding 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 22All 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 23An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
- Image 24Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
- Image 25Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
- Image 27Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
- Image 28Tropical 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 29Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
- Image 30The 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 32The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
- Image 33Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Featured list - show another
The 1982 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was an inactive Atlantic hurricane season, during which only five tropical cyclones formed. The season officially began on June 1, 1982 and ended November 30, 1982. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most systems form. this year, however, most tropical activity was constrained to the month of September.
This season produced eight tropical depressions, of which five became named storms; two attained hurricane status, of which one became a major hurricane, a storm that ranks as a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Hurricane Alberto, the season's first named storm, was one of four storms on record to attain hurricane status in the Gulf of Mexico that not make landfall. The other three were Laurie of 1969, Henri of 1979, and Jeanne of 1980. Nonetheless, rains from Alberto caused severe flooding, which killed 23 people in Cuba. The season's only major hurricane, Debby, reached peak intensity as a weak Category 4 over the open waters of the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Ernesto, the last storm of the season, peaked in intensity on October 2 just below hurricane strength. It then dissipated the next day, 58 days before the official end of the season. (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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