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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Hurricane Pali at peak intensity, over the Central Pacific on January 13

Hurricane Pali was the earliest-forming Pacific hurricane on record, being the first Pacific hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Ekeka of 1992. The first tropical cyclone of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season, Pali originated as an area of low pressure within a persistent trough, near the equator on January 6, 2016. Deep convection gradually built up around the center of the disturbance as the system curved northward, before it organized into a tropical depression on the next day, making the system the earliest recorded tropical cyclone in the Pacific hurricane basin. The system quickly intensified into a tropical storm, resulting in it being named Pali. During the next few days, Pali slowly moved northward while slowly curving towards the west, strengthening somewhat before weakening due to the presence of wind shear. On January 10, Pali slowly turned eastward and proceeded to re-strengthen as wind shear diminished.

On January 12, Pali strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale (SSWHS) while curving towards the south. The next day, Pali reached its peak intensity as a Category 2 hurricane, with 1-minute maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 978 mbar (hPa; 28.88 inHg). Afterward, Pali quickly began to weaken, as the storm encountered stronger wind shear, with the storm weakening into a Category 1 hurricane several hours later, before weakening into a tropical storm later that day. On January 14, Pali weakened into a tropical depression before degenerating into a remnant low the next day, since conditions became increasingly hostile. Later that day, Pali's remnants dissipated near the same location where they had formed roughly a week ago. Pali formed and tracked near the equator, forming at a latitude of 3.3°N and tracking as low as 2.6°N as a tropical depression. This made Pali the second-lowest latitude tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere at the time, which was extremely unusual, given the unfavorable conditions that are usually in place around the equator. (Full article...)

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Areas affected by the hurricane (excluding Bermuda)

The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout the Lesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16. Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unknown, as the official Atlantic hurricane database only goes back to 1851.

The hurricane struck Barbados likely as a Category 5 hurricane, with one estimate of wind gusts as high as 200 mph (320 km/h), before moving past Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius, and causing thousands of deaths on those islands. Coming in the midst of the American Revolution, the storm caused heavy losses to the British fleet contesting for control of the area, significantly weakening British control over the Atlantic. The hurricane later passed near Puerto Rico and over the eastern portion of Hispaniola, causing heavy damage near the coastlines. It ultimately turned to the northeast and was last observed on October 20 southeast of Atlantic Canada. (Full article...)

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The emblem of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, also known by its nickname, Hurricane Hunters. The squadron is a flying unit of the United States Air Force, and "the only Department of Defense organization still flying into tropical storms and hurricanes." It flies into tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Central Pacific Ocean for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms.

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The 1988 Pacific hurricane season was the least active Pacific hurricane season since 1981. It officially began May 15, in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, in the central Pacific and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The first named storm, Tropical Storm Aletta, formed on June 16, and the last-named storm, Tropical Storm Miriam, was previously named Hurricane Joan in the Atlantic Ocean before crossing Central America and re-emerging in the eastern Pacific; Miriam continued westward and dissipated on November 2.

The season produced 23 tropical depressions, of which 15 attained tropical storm status. Seven storms reached hurricane status, three of which became major hurricanes. The strongest storm of the season, Hurricane Hector, formed on July 30 to the south of Mexico and reached peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h)—Category 4 status—before dissipating over open waters on August 9; Hector was never a threat to land. Tropical Storm Gilma was the only cyclone in the season to make landfall, crossing the Hawaiian Islands, although there were numerous near-misses. Gilma's Hawaiian landfall was unusual, but not unprecedented. There were also two systems that successfully crossed over from the Atlantic: the aforementioned Joan / Miriam and Hurricane Debby, which became Tropical Depression Seventeen-E, making the 1988 season the first on record in which more than one tropical cyclone has crossed between the Atlantic and Pacific basins intact. Three systems caused deaths: Tropical Storm Aletta caused one death in southwestern Mexico, Hurricane Uleki caused two drownings off the coast of Oahu as it passed by the Hawaiian Islands, and Hurricane Kristy caused 21 deaths in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. (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): Tropical Storm Rachel; Hurricane Simon

West Pacific (2026): Typhoon Koguma; Tropical Storm Nolo; Tropical Depression

North Indian Ocean (2026): No active systems

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: 16:08, 10 October 2026 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

October 10

1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 stalled near Barbados, killing over 4,000 people on the island. The storm killed about 22,000 in total throughout the Lesser Antilles, making it the deadliest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
1960 - A cyclone struck what is now Bangladesh, killing 6,000 people.
1997 – Cyclone Lusi became the first named storm of one of the most active South Pacific season, and is one of a few systems in record within the basin to develop in the month of October.
2018 – Hurricane Michael (pictured) made landfall on Mexico Beach, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, becoming the most powerful hurricane to strike the Florida Panhandle on record.

October 11

2005 - Hurricane Vince made landfall in the southern Iberian Peninsula as a tropical depression, becoming the first known tropical cyclone to ever make landfall on continental Europe however some sources suggest the stronger 1842 Spain hurricane did so first on October 29, 1842.
2014 - Cyclone Hudhud (pictured) reached peak intensity as a Category 4 tropical cyclone before making landfall over in Andhra Pradesh. Hudhud caused ₹21,908 (US$3.8 billion) in damages and killed 124 people in total.
2018 - Cyclone Titli struck Andhra Pradesh, causing 85 deaths.

October 12

1974 - Typhoon Bess downed a United States Air Force WC-130H Hercules reconnaissance aircraft (call sign Swan 38) in the South China Sea, with the presumed loss of the crew of six.
1979 - Typhoon Tip (pictured) reached its peak intensity with a central pressure of 870 hPa (mbar), becoming the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in terms of central pressure.
2013 - Cyclone Phailin struck southeastern India, spurring the country's largest evacuation in 23 years; there were 45 deaths related to the storm.

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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 1Tropical 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 2Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 3The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 4A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 5A 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 6An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 7Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 8Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9The 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 10Flooding 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 11Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 12The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 13The 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 14Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 15Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 16Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 17Effects in Buncombe County, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene passed through the area in September 2024. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 18Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 19Hurricane Florence viewed from the International Space Station (from Cyclone)
Image 20All 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 21Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 22Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 23Wind 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 24Broken 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 25An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 26Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)

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

The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda 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.

According to the Bermuda Weather Service, Bermuda experiences a damaging tropical cyclone once every six to seven years, on average. Due to the small area of the island chain, landfalls and direct hits are rare. Strictly speaking, only 11 landfalls have occurred during years included in the official Atlantic hurricane database, starting in 1851.^[1] When hurricanes Fay and Gonzalo struck Bermuda just days apart in October 2014, that season became the first to produce two landfalls. Two damaging storms impacted Bermuda in September 1899, but the center of the first narrowly missed the islands. Tropical cyclones, and their antecedent or remnant weather systems, have affected the territory in all seasons, most frequently in the late summer months. A study of recorded storms from 1609 to 1996 found that direct hits from hurricanes were most common in early September and late October, with an intervening relative lull creating two distinct 'seasons'. (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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