Portal:Tropical cyclones

The Tropical Cyclones Portal

P:TCP: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.

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Larry intensifying and approaching Queensland on 19 March

Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005–06 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season. Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March 2006, and was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Brisbane, Australia. The low-pressure area organised into a tropical cyclone two days later and quickly strengthened into a Category 4 storm on the Australian tropical cyclone scale. Larry made landfall in Far North Queensland close to Innisfail, on 20 March 2006, as a Category 5 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale, with wind gusts reaching 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph), before dissipating over land several days later.

Throughout Queensland, Cyclone Larry resulted in roughly AU$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) 2006 USD or AU$2 billion (US$1.55billion) 2022 USD in damage. At the time, this made Larry the costliest tropical cyclone to ever impact Australia; surpassing Cyclone Tracy in 1974 (not accounting for inflation). In 2011, Cyclone Yasi surpassed the damage total caused by Larry. (Full article...)

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Track of Hurricane Patricia

Hurricane Patricia was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and the second-most intense worldwide in terms of barometric pressure. It also featured the highest one-minute maximum sustained winds ever recorded in a tropical cyclone. Originating from a sprawling disturbance near the Gulf of Tehuantepec in mid-October 2015, Patricia was first classified a tropical depression on October 20. Initial development was slow, with only modest strengthening within the first day of its classification. The system later became a tropical storm and was named Patricia, the twenty-fourth named storm of the annual hurricane season. Exceptionally favorable environmental conditions fueled explosive intensification on October 22. A well-defined eye developed within an intense central dense overcast and Patricia grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 24 hours—a near-record pace. The magnitude of intensification was poorly forecast and both forecast models and meteorologists suffered from record-high prediction errors.

On October 23, two Hurricane Hunter missions both revealed the storm to have acquired maximum sustained winds of 205 mph (335 km/h) and a pressure of 879 mbar (hPa; 25.96 inHg). Since the peak intensity was assessed to have occurred between the missions, the National Hurricane Center ultimately estimated Patricia to have acquired winds of 215 mph (345 km/h) and pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; 25.75 inHg). This ranked it just below Typhoon Tip of 1979 as the most intense tropical cyclone on record. Patricia's exceptional intensity prompted the retirement of its name in April 2016. Late on October 23, Patricia made landfall in a significantly weakened state near Cuixmala, Jalisco. Despite weakening greatly, it was the strongest recorded landfalling Pacific hurricane with winds estimated at 150 mph (240 km/h), until it was surpassed by Hurricane Otis in 2023. Interaction with the mountainous terrain of Mexico induced dramatic weakening, faster than the storm had intensified. Within 24 hours of moving ashore, Patricia degraded into a tropical depression and dissipated soon thereafter late on October 24. (Full article...)

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A boarded up flooded out home in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, 2005

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The 2015–16 Australian region cyclone season was the least active Australian region cyclone season since reliable records started during 1969, with only three named tropical cyclones developing in the region. Reasons for the low activity during the year included a positive Indian Ocean Dipole occurring and the 2014–16 El Niño event. Ahead of the season starting; the Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicted that there was a 91% chance that the season would be below average. As the 2015–16 tropical cyclone year opened on 1 July 2015, the newly named Tropical Cyclone Raquel moved south-westward into the Australian region. Over the next couple of days, the system meandered around 160°E and moved through the Solomon Islands, before it was last noted on 5 July. The basin subsequently remained quiet with only several weak tropical lows developing, before the first named tropical cyclone of the season was named Stan during 29 January 2016.

Stan subsequently made landfall on Western Australia and impacted various commodities including oil, natural gas and iron ore. However, impacts were limited due to the low population of the region. The precursor tropical low to Tropical Cyclone Uriah developed over the Indian Ocean, within a monsoon trough of low pressure during 9 February. The system subsequently developed further and was named Uriah during 13 February, before it moved out of the region during the following day. Tropical Cyclone Tatiana developed into a tropical cyclone, during 11 February while it was located over the Coral Sea. Over the next few days, the system remained over water and dissipated during 15 February after it had produced some powerful, long period swells along Queensland beaches. After Tatiana dissipated four tropical lows occurred in the region, before the season ended on 30 April, including the remnant tropical low of Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston. (Full article...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2025): No active systems

East and Central Pacific (2025): No active systems

West Pacific (2025): Tropical Depression 31W

North Indian Ocean (2025): No active systems

Mediterranean (2025–26): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2025–26): No active systems

Australian region (2025–26): No active systems

South Pacific (2025–26): No active systems

South Atlantic (2025–26): No active systems

Last updated: 09:06, 1 November 2025 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

October 31

1876 - A powerful cyclone struck what is now Bangladesh, killing 200,000 people from storm surge flooding and subsequent famine.
1960 - A cyclone hit what is now Bangladesh, killing 14,174 people.
2012 - Cyclone Nilam made landfall over in South India, killing 75 people in total.
2020 - Typhoon Goni (pictured) made landfall over Bicol Region, Philippines with 10-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph). Goni caused about ₱20 billion (US$369 million) in damages.

November 1

1991 - The Perfect Storm – a nor'easter that caused significant coastal damage in the northeastern United States – evolved into a minimal hurricane, but remained unnamed to reduce confusion. The system caused 12 deaths and US$200 million in damage.
1995 - Typhoon Angela (pictured) moved through the Philippines with estimated 1-minute sustained winds of 285 km/h (180 mph) with a pressure of 910 hPa. Angela killed 936 people in total and causing about $315 million in damages.
2025 - The 2025–26 Australian region and South Pacific cyclone seasons officially begins.

November 2

1997 - Tropical Storm Linda (pictured) made landfall on southern Vietnam and later moved across the Malay Peninsula, killing 3,123 people.

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Did you know…

…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?
…that the typhoons of 2024—Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi, and Man-yi (pictured)—made history as the first recorded instance since 1951 of four tropical cyclones coexisting in November?

Did you know archive

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

Image 1An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
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 3An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 4Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 5Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 6Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 7Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 8Hurricane Florence viewed from the International Space Station (from Cyclone)
Image 9Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 10Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 11Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 12Flooding 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 13The 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 14A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 15Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 16The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 17The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
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 19Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 20Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 21Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 22Effects in Buncombe County, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene passed through the area in September 2024. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 23The 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 24All 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 25Broken 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 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 2012 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual hurricane season in the north Atlantic Ocean. For the third year in a row there were 19 named storms. The season officially began on June 1, 2012, and ended on November 30, 2012, dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin. Surprisingly, two preseason storms formed: Alberto on May 19, and Beryl on May 26. This was the first such occurrence since the 1951 season. The final storm to dissipate (second-to-last to become a named storm) was Sandy, on October 29. Altogether, ten storms became hurricanes, of which two intensified into major hurricanes.

Storm impact during the season was widespread and ruinous, with the most significant storms in term of loss of life and damage being hurricanes Isaac and Sandy. A Category 1 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, Isaac was a large system that moved ashore the coast of Louisiana on August 12; the storm resulted in 41 deaths overall. Sandy, the second and final major hurricane of the season, was the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, with a wind diameter of more than 1,100 mi (1,800 km). The system moved ashore the southern coast of New Jersey as an extratropical cyclone in late October. During its duration as a tropical cyclone, Sandy caused at least $68 billion (2012 USD) in damage and 285 fatalities. Sandy is the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina during the 2005 season. (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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