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Atropical cyclone is astorm system characterized by a largelow-pressure center, a closed low-level circulation and a spiral arrangement of numerousthunderstorms that produce strongwinds and heavyrainfall. Tropical cyclones feed on the heat released when moistair rises, resulting incondensation ofwater vapor contained in the moist air. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such asNor'easters,European windstorms andpolar lows, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems. Most tropical cyclones originate in thedoldrums, approximately ten degrees from theEquator.
The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively intropical regions of the globe, as well as to their formation in maritime tropicalair masses. The term "cyclone" refers to such storms'cyclonic nature, withanticlockwise rotation in theNorthern Hemisphere andclockwise rotation in theSouthern 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.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the secondmost intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worstnatural disasters in the history ofVanuatu. A total of 15–16 people died either directly or indirectly as a result of Pam with many others injured. The storm's impacts were also felt, albeit to a lesser extent, on other islands in the South Pacific, most notably theSolomon Islands,Tuvalu, andNew Zealand. Pam is the third most intense storm of the South Pacific Ocean according topressure, afterWinston of2016 andZoe of2002. It is also the second most intensetropical cyclone in 2015, only behindHurricane Patricia. In addition, Pam is tied withOrson,Monica,Marcus andFantala for having the second strongest ten-minute maximum sustained winds in the Southern Hemisphere. Thousands of homes, schools and buildings were damaged or destroyed, with an estimated 3,300 people displaced as a result.
Pam formed on 6 March, east of theSolomon Islands and tracked slowly in a generally southward direction, slowly intensifying as it did so. Two days later, the disturbance reached tropical cyclone intensity and, over subsequent days, Pam gradually strengthened before reachingCategory 5 cyclone status on both theAustralian andSaffir–Simpson scales on 12 March. The next day, Pam's sustained winds peaked at 250 km/h (155 mph) as the storm moved throughVanuatu, passing near several constituent islands and making direct hits on others. On 14 March, Pam's winds began to slowly weaken, but its pressure dropped further to a minimum of 896mbar (hPa; 26.46 inHg) before rising shortly afterwards. Over the next few days, the cyclone's weakening accelerated as it moved poleward. On 15 March, Pam passed northeast of New Zealand beforetransitioning into anextratropical cyclone that same day. (Full article...)
Deep Depression ARB 02 was a weak yet costlytropical cyclone which caused extensive damage and loss of life inYemen. The sixth tropical cyclone and third deep depression of the2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, ARB 02 formed in the Arabian Sea on October 19 from the same broader system which would spawnModerate Tropical Storm Asma in the southern Indian Ocean around that time. Moving generally westward, the depression failed to intensify further, reachingmaximum sustained winds of 55 km/h (35 mph). It would weaken, becoming a remnant low on October 23. Later that day, the system's remnants would make landfall nearAsh Shihr in eastern Yemen.
The storm sent a plume of moisture throughout the Arabian Peninsula, contributing to dust storms as far north asIraq. However, the effects were most severe in Yemen, becoming the second-worst natural disaster in the country afterdeadly floods in 1996. The storm dropped heavy rainfall in a normally arid region, reaching around 91 mm (3.6 in), which causedflash flooding in valleys after waterways were unable to contain the approximately 2 billion m3 (528 billion gallons) of water that fell. Poor drainage practices and an invasive species of weed contributed to the floods, which damaged or destroyed 6,505 houses, leaving about 25,000 people homeless. The floods killed 180 people and severely disrupted the livelihoods of about 700,000 residents ofHadhramaut andAl Mahrahgovernorates, mostly farmers whose fields were washed away. Some of the buildings at theShibamUNESCO World Heritage Site collapsed due to the floods. Overall damage was estimated at US$874.8 million, although residual losses from damaged infrastructure were estimated to cost an additional US$726.9 million. The overall economic impact of the storm was therefore estimated at US$1.638 billion, equating to roughly 6% of the country'sgross domestic product. (Full article...)
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The2000–01 South-WestIndian Ocean cyclone season was a fairly quiet season with only fivenamed storms, although there was an additional unnamedtropical storm and twosubtropical cyclones withgale-force winds. It started early, with atropical disturbance forming on August 1 – the first day of the cyclone year. However, the first named storm, Ando, was not named until January 2, which at the time was the 4th latest on record. Ando would become the most intense cyclone of the year, reaching peakwinds of 195 km/h (121 mph) according to theMétéo-France office (MFR) onRéunion, the officialRegional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. The agency tracked storms south of the equator and west of90°E to the east coast of Africa.
In addition to being the strongest storm, Cyclone Ando was one of two deadly storms during the season. It passed about 205 km (127 mi) west of Réunion, producing 1,255 mm (49.4 in) of rainfall in the mountainous peaks. The rains led to flooding that killed two people. Ando was one of three storms to attain tropical cyclone status – winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph) – in the month of January. The others were Bindu, which alternated its trajectory several times over open waters, and Charly, which rapidly weakened after encountering hostile wind shear. The next storm to form was Tropical Cyclone Dera, which intensified nearMozambique in early March and killed two people there due to flooding rains. It later moved southward through theMozambique Channel, maintaining its intensity unusually far to the south before becomingextratropical. There was a month of inactivity in March, including three weeks in which there were no storms worldwide, the first such instance. Subsequently, two storms formed in early April; one was a small, unnamed tropical storm, and the other was Severe Tropical Storm Evariste, which brought light rainfall to two islands. The season ended with an unusual subtropical storm forming rapidly in the southern Mozambique Channel on June 19, the only such storm to form in that body of water in the month. It became the strongest storm on record for so late in the season, although it weakened without affecting land, dissipating on June 24.
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Italicized basins are unofficial.
Last updated: 14:22, 13 February 2026 (UTC)
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The2010 Pacific hurricane season was one of the least active seasons on record, featuring the fewestnamed storms since1977. The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific—east of140°W—and on June 1 in the central Pacific—between theInternational Date Line and 140°W—and lasted until November 30. These dates typically cover the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the easternPacific basin. The season's first storm,Tropical Storm Agatha, developed on May 29; the season's final storm,Tropical Storm Omeka, degenerated on December 21.
The season began with record-breaking activity with four named storms, including twomajor hurricanes, developing by the end of June.Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) values exceeded 300 percent of the average for the month of June. Activity abruptly diminished thereafter, with July, August, and September seeing record low storm development. The Eastern Pacific season proper ended withTropical Storm Georgette's dissipation on September 23, a month before the climatological mean. The year's final cyclone, Omeka, developed in theoff-season on December 18, marking a record-late formation date in the satellite-era. (Full article...)
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