List of notable tropical cyclones
This is a
list of notable tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin and reason for notability.
These records are held by
Atlantic hurricanes.
Tropical cyclones rarely form in the
South Atlantic Basin. Only three
South Atlantic tropical cyclones in the area have been confirmed.
*The
Angola Cyclone, 1991 - a tropical storm formed off
Angola in April.
*The
January Storm, 2004 - a cyclone of
depression and possibly
storm strength formed in January.
*
Cyclone Catarina, 2004 - first positively observed hurricane in the
South Atlantic Ocean, and the first one to make landfall as a cyclone.
These records are held by
Pacific hurricanes.
Retired Names
Names retired before 2000 were retired by the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Ones retired during and after that year were retired by the
Japan Meteorological Agency.
PAGASA also retires names for typhoons and tropical storms that affect the Philippines.
Significant Typhoons with Special Names
Eight especially significant typhoons were named by
Japan Meteorological Agency according to the area where they caused most damage.
Other Named
*
Longwang, 2005,
Taiwan*
Maemi, 2003,
Korea*
Pongsona, 2002,
Guam*
Maggie, Sam, York and Cam 1999,
Hong Kong - Four storms to directly strike the vicinity of Hong Kong within one typhoon season
*
Paka, 1997,
Guam*
Herb, 1996,
Taiwan and
China - The strongest and the largest storm of this year, dropped heavy rain over Taiwan and China, killing hundreds.
*
Nina [
1], 1975 - Dropped rain over eastern
China, contributing to the collapse of the
Banqiao Dam which killed at least 170,000
*
Pamela, 1976,
Guam*
Tip, 1979,
Japan - Most intense
Tropical Cylone on record
*
Rose, 1971,
Hong Kong*
Wanda, 1962,
Hong Kong - Often cited by Hong Kong residents as an example of a deadly storm. Although it ranked only as category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the deficient warning system of the time led to many deaths in the villages of the
New Territories unaware of the storm surge.
Unnamed
* The
Kamikaze, 1281, destroyed a
Mongol invasion fleet attacking
Japan.
* The Great Hong Kong Typhoon, 1937
* The
Typhoon of 1944, 17-18 December, three US destroyers lost
Most active West Pacific seasons
The following are the most active Western Pacific seasons, according to the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center best track. Only seasons with over 30 storms are included.
This region has had some of the world's deadliest cyclones, but there is a dearth of organized information about them.
* 1480: Hindu temple records say that in this year a violent storm broke a natural
isthmus that previously joined
Sri Lanka to
India.
*
1737 Calcutta cyclone, caused death and destruction around
Calcutta,
India*
1864 Calcutta cyclone, killed around 60,000 people in
Calcutta,
India*
1970 Bhola cyclone, killed between 100,000 to 500,000 people in
East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh)
*
1991 Bangladesh cyclone, killed 138,000 people in the
Chittagong region of
Bangladesh* 1999:
Tropical Cyclone 05B, killed around 10,000 people in the
Orissa state of
India [
2]
* 2006:
Cyclone Mala, made landfall over Myanmar causing major damage.
Most Active Seasons
| Total Storms | Year | Tropical Depressions | Tropical Storms | Cyclones | | | 13 | 1992 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
| 8 | 1987 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | 1996 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 8 | 1998 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | 2005 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
|
*
Cyclone Giselle - 1968 - Caused the
Wahine Disaster in
New Zealand*
Cyclone Bola - 1988 - Extensive damage and 3 deaths in
New Zealand*
Cyclone Zoe - 2002 - Reached an incredible intensity in open ocean.
*
Cyclone Erica - 2003 - Devastated the South Pacific islands as a Category 5.
*
Cyclone Heta - 2004 - Extreme destruction to the island nation of
Niue.
*
Cyclone Ivy - 2004 - Ripped through the entire length of
Vanuatu and edged
New Zealand.
*
Cyclone Olaf - 2005 - Ripped through
Western Samoa,
American Samoa, and the
Cook Islands.
*
Cyclone Percy - 2005 - Again ripped through
American Samoa,
Tokelau and the
Cook Islands.
*
Cyclone Firinga - 1989 - Struck the island of
La Reunion, Category 2.
*
Cyclone Leon-Eline - 2000 - Drenched
Madagascar and blew away
Mozambique.
*
Cyclone Gafilo - 2004 - Made landfall on
Madagascar as a Category 5.
See
History - Australia's worst cyclone disasters (from Queensland Government State Disaster Management Group).See also
Australian Bureau of Meteorology - Severe Weather Events*
Cyclone Mahina,
March 4,
1899 - over 300 people died.
*
1918 Mackay cyclone, 1918 - 30 dead, extensive damage.
*
Cyclone Ada, 1970 - struck
Whitsunday Island resorts and Whitsunday coast mainland. 14 people died and cost approximately AU$390 million.
*
Cyclone Althea, 1971 - struck
Magnetic Island and
Townsville,
Queensland on
Christmas Day*
Cyclone Wanda, 1974 - caused extensive flooding in south-eastern
Queensland and north-eastern
New South Wales*
Cyclone Tracy, 1974 - 71 people died, the costliest Australian cyclone on record; the smallest cyclone on record in terms of size & wind field.
*
Cyclone Alby, 1978 - 5 people died in south-western parts of
Western Australia.
Albany recorded one of the strongest wind gusts on record.
*
Cyclone Justin, 1997 - 7 people died and damage came to approximately 190 million AUD.
*
Cyclone Thelma, 1998 - intense Category 5 system that hit the
Kimberley region of
Western Australia causing extensive damage and flooding near
Darwin.
*
Cyclone Vance, 1999 - Category 5 system that caused extensive damage to the
Western Australian towns of
Exmouth and
Onslow.
*
Cyclone Steve, 2000 - A long-lived Category 2 storm, causing flooding in
Queensland,
Northern Territory and
Western Australia.
*
Cyclone Rosita, 2000 - Category 5, made a destructive landfall near
Broome, Western Australia.
*
Cyclone Ingrid, 2005 - Category 5 cyclone which took a long track over Northern Australia.
*
Cyclone Larry, 2006 - Category 4 which crossed the Queensland coast at
Innisfail, causing $1 billion in damage.
*
Cyclone Glenda, 2006 - Category 5 which crossed the West Australian coast as Category 3 near
Onslow*
Cyclone Monica, 2006 - Strongest cyclone of the season, dumped very heavy rainfall in
Cairns, Queensland.
This list includes Western Pacific storms with pressures of less than 885 mb and Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and South Pacific storms with pressure of less than 915 mb. Additional Western Pacific storms with pressures between 885 and 915 mb have been recorded, but these storms are neither exceptional for that basin nor all reliably measured. As for Indian Ocean storms, pressure readings are too scarce or too inaccurate to make a list reliable.
As a result of the omissions of many Western Pacific storms, many storms near the bottom of the list are not numerically ranked.
*[
3]
Notes:
* *Minimum central pressure of these storms was estimated based on satellite data rather than directly measured.
* **Official estimate. JTWC estimated 879 mbar.
* ***Official estimate. JTWC estimated 879 mbar and unofficial estimates were 869 mbar (which would make it the most intense recorded tropical cyclone).
* ****Official estimate. JTWC estimated 898 mbar.
In addition, Hurricane Wilma was
likely also the most intense storm ever recorded while at Category 4 intensity with a pressure of 894 mb at that time - which in itself would be the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.
 |
The relative sizes of Typhoon Tip, Tropical Cyclone Tracy, and the United States. |
*
Typhoon Tip is the largest tropical cyclone on record at 1350 miles (2170 km) wide, October (1979)
*
Cyclone Tracy is the smallest tropical cyclone on record at 60 miles (96 km) wide, December (1974)These sizes indicate the distance from the center at which gale-force winds could be found [
4].
The three powerful hurricanes listed below caused very high storm surge.
Hurricane Katrina had the highest recorded storm surge of any Atlantic hurricane and
Hurricane Camille had the second-highest. Worldwide storm surge data is sparse.
Cyclone Mahina is generally regarded as having had the highest storm surge ever recorded, although measurements from before modern times must be viewed with some skepticism.
Storm surge is enhanced by high winds and greater storm size. The shape of the coastline and the contour of the bottom near the coast are also significant factors. Hurricane Katrina was the largest Category 5 hurricane recorded in the Atlantic, and Hurricane Camille tied for the highest recorded windspeed; both struck an area vulnerable to high storm surge because of the shallow coastal waters.
*
Cyclone Mahina: 48 feet, South Pacific, 1899
*
Hurricane Katrina: 35 feet, Atlantic Ocean, 2005
*
Hurricane Camille: 24 feet, Atlantic Ocean, 1969
For unusual landfalls in the Atlantic basin, see
List of notable Atlantic hurricanes.
Brazil
*2004 - A
tropical depression hit eastern Brazil in January of 2004, causing torrential flooding.
*2004 - The only hurricane-strength tropical system ever observed in the
South Atlantic,
Cyclone Catarina, made landfall in the
Brazilian state of
Santa Catarina.
New Zealand
*April, 1968-Cyclone Giselle struck New Zealand causing the
Wahine disaster.
*February/March, 1988-Cyclone Bola killed 3 people in
New Zealand.
Arabian Peninsula
*1983-Tropical Storm Aurora struck
Oman.
*May, 1984-Tropical Storm 01-A transited the Gulf of Aden and made landfall in northwest Somalia, the first tropical cyclone on record to do so.
*October, 1992-Tropical Storm 06-A struck Oman.
*June, 1996-Tropical Storm 02-A struck Oman.
Somalia
*1984-A tropical storm struck
Somalia,
*1984-A late season cyclone slammed
Somalia.
*1994-Somalia was hit by a tropical storm that brought 65mph winds and heavy rains.
*1997-A weak November storm made landfall in Eastern
Somalia.
California
*1858-A hurricane just barely missed landfall in
San Diego, causing considerable damage.
*1939-A tropical storm struck
Long Beach killing 45 people.
*1972-
Tropical Depression Hyacinth made landfall near Los Angeles and brought rain around the area.
Australia
*1956-A cyclone made a close track along the whole
Western Australian coast, and made a near landfall near
Perth.
*1978-
Cyclone Alby made a close encounter to the south-west of
Western Australia as a strong extratropical system in the vicinity of
Perth and
Albany, causing extensive damage and five deaths. Albany recorded one of its highest wind gusts on record from Cyclone Alby.
*1989-
Cyclone Ned passed almost directly over
Perth.
This list contains
tropical cyclones that formed or moved to an extraordinary latitude. It can be extreme north (or south) latitude, or very equatorial cyclones.
*1975 -
Hurricane 12 formed at a record north latitude for the Central and East Pacific.
*2001 -
Typhoon Vamei formed 85 miles from the equator, the closest recorded formation location of a storm of hurricane strength.
*2004 -
Cyclone Agni reached a location of only 40 miles from the equator, the closest to the equator any tropical cyclone has been recorded to have reached. However, Vamei retained the record for the most equatorial formation as Agni formed further from the equator than Vamei and moved towards it.
This is a list of
Northern Hemisphere storms that have crossed two calendar years. Because the
Southern Hemisphere cyclone season runs across the
New Year, Southern Hemisphere storms that cross calendar years are not exceptional.
| Storm | Duration!Basin | | Tropical Storm Zeta | December 30, 2005-January 6, 2006 | Atlantic |
|-| Typhoon Vamei | December 26, 2001-January 1, 2002 | North Indian\West Pacific |
| Typhoon Soulik | December 29, 2000-January 4, 2001 | West Pacific [5][6] |
|-| Typhoon Mary | December 20, 1977-January 3, 1978 | West Pacific [7] |
|-| Typhoon Harriet | December 24, 1959-January 2, 1960 | West Pacific [8] |
|-| Hurricane Alice | December 30, 1954-January 6, 1955 | Atlantic |
|-| Typhoon Hester | December 27, 1952-January 4, 1953 | West Pacific |
|}Tropical cyclones are normally only given names when their winds exceed 39 mph (threshold for tropical storm strength). On rare occasions, some are designated as tropical storms actively but then downgraded in post-storm analysis. Most are in the South or Western Pacfic basins because two different organizations are in charge of naming storms but the main forecasting body, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center is not. This frequently creates discrepancies on a storm's strength. This is a list of storms that were named before reaching tropical storm strength.
Year Name Basin
*1970 Dolores East Pacific
*1974 Rose West Pacific
*2002 Kalmaegi West Pacific[9]
*2004 Evan South PacificCyclones that were not tracked by JTWC
As well as cyclones that were only depressions, there are other cyclones that were not tracked by JTWC at all! This list only includes a handfull of unidentified cyclones.
*2000 Marcia South Indian
*2001 Vicky South Pacific
*2002 Changmi West Pacific
*2005 Felapi South Indian
*2005 Lola South Pacific
*2005 Sheila South Pacific* 1954- There were two Hurricane Alices in 1954. One formed in June and struck Mexico. The other one formed on December 30 and lasted though January,1955.
* 1970- There were two tropical storms named Ione, one of which hit the Mexican coastline with 60 mph winds.
* 1977- Hurricane Babe in the Atlantic and Typhoon Babe in the Pacific existed at the same time.
* 1986- There were two storms named Vera. One was a typhoon while another was a weak tropical storm. Operationally, Vera was treated as one storm until post storm analyisis found that it was actually two separate storms.
* 2003- In the Southern Hemisphere, two storms were named Beni, one in the South Pacific in February, one in the South Indian in November.Typhoon Wilma- ten crewmen died when a USAF B-29 crashed during the storm.
Hurricane Janet-Two airplanes (one of them a hurricane hunter plane) crashed during the storm.
Typhoon Emma- A Hurricane Hunter plane crashed during the storm.
Hurricane Betsy (1956)- A DC-4 Crashed on while delivering supplies after the storm.
Hurricane Esther- A Navy plane crashed several miles off the coast of Bermuda. Seven of the ten crewmen drowned.
Typhoon Bess (1974)- A US Air force hurricane hunter plane crashed during the storm. There were no surviors.
Hurricane Emmy- A Venezuelen Air force crashed during the storm while attempting to land. 68 people died.
Tropical Storm Gamma- Three people were killed in a plane crash during Gamma's outer bands.
*List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
*List of Pacific hurricane seasons
*List of Pacific typhoon seasons
*List of North Indian cyclone seasons
*List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons
*History of tropical cyclone-spawned tornadoes
