Portal:Tropical cyclones
Tropical Cyclones Portal
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and 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 fuelled 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. Tropical cyclones originate in the doldrums near the Equator, approximately 10 degrees away.
The term 'tropical' refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, and 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 can be referred to by names such as 'hurricane', 'typhoon', 'tropical storm', 'cyclonic storm', 'tropical depression', or simply 'cyclone'.
- Pictured: Typhoon Tip
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Hurricane Floyd was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, it struck the Bahamas and paralleled the coastline of the Eastern United States, making landfall in North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane produced torrential rainfall in the state, adding more rain to an area hit by Hurricane Dennis just weeks earlier. Floyd was responsible for 57 fatalities and $5.13 billion in damage (2005 USD).
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Surrounding the eye of the hurricane is a ring of thunderstorms, called the eyewall. Rainbands surround the eye of the storm in concentric circles. In the eyewall and in the rainbands, warm, moist air rises, while in the eye and around the rainbands, air from higher in the atmosphere sinks back toward the surface. The rising air cools, and water vapor in the air condenses into rain. Sinking air warms and dries, creating a calm, cloud-free area in the eye.
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Did you know…
- … that Hurricane Faith (pictured) was tracked until it was located 600 miles (965 km) from the North Pole?
- …that from the formation of the low that would become Cyclone Katrina and the dissipation of it as Cyclone Victor–Cindy passed 51 days? (track pictured)
- …that since 2011 the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center has assigned names to tropical and subtropical systems in the South Atlantic, when they have sustained wind speeds of at least 65 km/h (40 mph)?
- …that, although being the second most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin in terms of atmospheric pressure, Cyclone Chris-Damia (pictured) never attained the highest categories in either Météo-France or Saffir–Simpson wind scales?
Tropical cyclone anniversaries
March 19,
- 1982 - Tropical Storm Mamie (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 110 km/h (70 mph) winds just before it impacted the Philippines. Mamie killed over 40 people on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
- 1999 - Cyclone Davina rapidly dissipates east of the Madagascar only affecting very few small remote islands during its life time.
March 20,
- 1993 - Tropical Storm Roger enters the South Pacific basin and starts affecting New Caledonia.
- 2006 - Cyclone Larry (pictured) makes landfall near Innisfail, Queensland as a Category 5 cyclone, causing about AU$1.4 billion (US$1 billion) worth of damage.
- 2009 - Cyclone Ilsa starts to weaken from a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone.
March 21,
- 1956 - Typhoon Sarah develops as a tropical depression, then later intensifies into a tropical storm just north of the equator and Papua New Guinea.
- 2015 - Cyclone Nathan (pictured) makes landfall north of Cairns in Cape York Peninsula, Australia with major damages.
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