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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Ianos shortly before its record peak intensity, nearing landfall in Greece on 17 September.

Cyclone Ianos, also known as Medicane Ianos, was a rare medicane that impacted the eastern Mediterranean on 17 and 18 September 2020, especially Greece. Ianos developed from an area of low pressure over the Gulf of Sidra that quickly began tropical cyclogenesis while moving over warm waters. After receiving various names from different meteorological centers, the storm, dubbed Ianos by the METEO unit of the National Observatory of Athens, rapidly intensified while moving northeastward. After scraping Italy, the storm went on to strike Malta and Crete with tropical storm-force winds. Despite land interaction, the small cyclone reached its peak intensity of 159 km/h (99 mph) with wind gusts up to 195 km/h (121 mph) on 18 September, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale, immediately before making landfall in southwestern Greece. After landfall, Ianos turned back out to sea and moved south-southeastward, before dissipating on 21 September.

Damage was severe in Greece, with cities in the central part of the country getting the brunt of the storm's impacts. Cities such as Karditsa and Mouzaki were flooded for several days. Heavy agricultural damage was reported in rural areas north of Athens. A state of emergency was declared for the islands of Ithaca, Kefalonia, and Zakynthos. Four people were killed, and one person remains missing. Ianos caused at least $100 million (2020 USD) in damages. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Gordon's winding route

Hurricane Gordon developed during a fourteen-day period along an erratic, persistent, and highly unusual path. The hurricane formed near Panama in the southwestern Caribbean on November 8, 1994. As a tropical depression, it brushed Nicaragua and spent several days in the waters off the country's coast. Strengthening slightly into a tropical storm, Gordon wound its way north into the Greater Antilles. Despite warm waters, persistent wind shear prevented significant strengthening. Executing a slow turn to the north and then the northwest, Gordon made two more landfalls, on eastern Jamaica and eastern Cuba, while delivering tremendous rains to western Hispaniola.

As Gordon made its fourth landfall crossing the Florida Keys, it interacted with a cyclone in the upper-troposphere and a series of cyclonic lows which lent the storm some sub-tropical characteristics. After a few days as an unusual hybrid of a tropical and a subtropical system in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm re-claimed its fully tropical form and made yet another landfall, this time across the Florida peninsula, and continued into the Atlantic Ocean. In the Atlantic, Gordon rapidly strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Gordon's characteristic wandering briefly brought it near North Carolina, but ultimately the storm headed south, weakening into a minor tropical storm before making its sixth and final landfall on Florida's east coast. (Full article...)

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Remnants of Hurricane Agnes over the Northeastern United States. Agnes dropped torrential and record-breaking rainfall, causing over $2 billion in damage (1972 USD) and more than 100 deaths. The name was later retired.

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The 1983 Atlantic hurricane season was the least active Atlantic hurricane season in the satellite era and the least active overall since 1930. The season officially began on June 1, 1983, and lasted until November 30, 1983. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most storms form in the Atlantic basin. The season had very little activity, with only seven tropical depressions, four of which reached tropical storm strength or higher. This led to the lowest accumulated cyclone energy count since 1977.

The season began later than normal; the first tropical depression formed on July 23 and the second on July 27. Neither tropical depressions strengthened and they dissipated soon thereafter. Hurricane Alicia formed as Tropical Depression Three on August 15, quickly intensified into a hurricane on August 16 and made landfall in Texas on August 18. Alicia caused $3 billion in damage in Texas. Hurricane Barry formed on August 25, crossed Florida and strengthened into a hurricane. Barry made landfall near the Mexico–United States border, and dissipated over land on August 30. (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): Hurricane Octave; Hurricane Priscilla

West Pacific (2025): Tropical Storm Matmo (Paolo); Severe Tropical Storm Halong

North Indian Ocean (2025): Severe Cyclonic Storm Shakhti

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: 06:19, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

October 5

1864 - The 1864 Calcutta cyclone hit India near Calcutta, devastating the city and killing about 60,000 people.
1999 - Typhoon Dan reaches its maximum intensity as a Category 3 typhoon with 10-minute sustained winds of 150 km/h (90 mph)
2003 - Tropical Storm Larry (pictured) makes landfall over in Paraíso, Tabasco. Damages from Larry were recorded at $53.6 million.

October 6

1973 - Typhoon Nora reached its peak intensity with 295 km/h (185 mph) winds in the Philippine Sea. Nora made landfall in northeast Luzon a few days later, causing $2 billion of damage.
1989 - Typhoon Angela makes landfall over in northern Luzon, Philippines and killing a total of 119.
2013 - Typhoon Fitow (pictured) makes landfall in Fujian, causing $10.4 billion in damages, making it the third costliest typhoon on record.

October 7

1737 - The 1737 Calcutta cyclone hit Calcutta, India killing at least 3,000 people. Until recently, it was thought that this natural disaster was an earthquake and not a tropical cyclone.
2008 - Tropical Storm Marco, recognized as the smallest tropical cyclone on record, makes landfall over in Veracruz, Mexico, where it also dissipated in the same day, only causing minimal damages.
2024 - Hurricane Milton (pictured) reaches peak intensity north of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. It later hit Florida, producing a deadly tornado outbreak and causing billions in damage.

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

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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 from 1980 to 1999 encompasses approximately 68 tropical or subtropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of North Carolina. Collectively, cyclones in North Carolina during the time period resulted in around $10 billion in damage (2007 USD), primarily from hurricanes Fran and Floyd. Additionally, tropical cyclones in North Carolina were responsible for about 56 direct fatalities and at least 47 indirect casualties during the period. Eight cyclones affected the state in the 1985 season, which was the year with the most tropical cyclones impacting the state. Every year included at least one tropical cyclone affecting the state. All but two storms were North Atlantic hurricanes; the exceptions were Eastern Pacific hurricanes Tico in 1983 and Roslyn in 1986.

The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the time period was Hurricane Fran in 1996, which struck near Wilmington as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale; Hurricane Emily in 1993 brushed the Outer Banks also as a Category 3 hurricane. The deadliest hurricane during the period was Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which caused 35 fatalities and record-breaking flooding in the eastern portion of the state. Cyclones affected the state in each month of the hurricane season from June to November, primarily in September. (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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