Portal:Tropical cyclones

Irma at peak intensity while making landfall in Saint Martin early on September 6

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered the most powerful hurricane on record in the open Atlantic region, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Dorian two years later. It was also the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane at landfall ever recorded, just behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Dorian. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, second major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma caused widespread and catastrophic damage throughout its long lifetime, particularly in the northeastern Caribbean and the Florida Keys. It was also the most intense hurricane to strike the continental United States since Katrina in 2005, the first major hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in the same year, and the first Category 4 hurricane to strike the state since Charley in 2004. The word Irmageddon was coined soon after the hurricane to describe the damage caused by the hurricane.

Irma developed from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands on August 30. Favorable conditions allowed Irma to rapidly intensify into a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson wind scale by late on August 31. The storm's intensity fluctuated between Categories 2 and 3 for the next several days, due to a series of eyewall replacement cycles. On September 4, Irma resumed intensifying, becoming a Category 5 hurricane by early on the next day. Early on September 6, Irma peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 180 mph (290 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 914 hPa (27.0 inHg). Irma was the second-most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017 in terms of barometric pressure, and the strongest worldwide in 2017 in terms of wind speed. Another eyewall replacement cycle caused Irma to weaken back to a Category 4 hurricane, but the storm re-attained Category 5 status before making landfall in Cuba. Although Irma briefly weakened to a Category 2 storm while making landfall on Cuba, the system re-intensified to Category 4 status as it crossed the warm waters of the Straits of Florida, before making landfall on Cudjoe Key on September 10. Irma then weakened to Category 3 status, prior to another landfall in Florida on Marco Island later that day. The system degraded into a remnant low over Alabama and ultimately dissipated on September 13 over Missouri. (Full article...)

Track of Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused extensive damage in the Caribbean and Florida. Lasting from late August to mid-September 2017, the storm was the strongest open-Atlantic tropical cyclone on record and the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands. Classified as the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma developed from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands on August 30. Favorable conditions allowed the cyclone to become a hurricane on the following day and then rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by September 1 as it moved generally westward across the Atlantic. However, dry air and eyewall replacement cycles disrupted further strengthening, with fluctuations in intensity during the next few days. Irma resumed deepening upon encountering warmer sea surface temperatures, while approaching the Lesser Antilles on September 4. The system reached Category 5 intensity on the following day and peaked with winds of 180 mph (290 km/h) shortly thereafter.

Irma made its first landfall on Barbuda early on September 6 at peak intensity. The hurricane also struck Saint Martin and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands at Category 5 intensity later that day. Upon clearing the Leeward Islands, the cyclone continued west-northwestward toward the Bahamas. Around the time of landfall on Little Inagua Island early on September 8, Irma weakened to a Category 4 hurricane, after being a Category 5 hurricane for about 60 consecutive hours, the second longest contiguous time period as a Category 5 hurricane on record. Late on September 8, the storm re-intensified to Category 5 southwest of Ragged Island. Irma made landfall near Cayo Romano, Cuba, at that intensity, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the island since 1924. Although land interaction weakened Irma to a high-end Category 2 hurricane, the system re-intensified to Category 4 status as it crossed the warm waters of the Straits of Florida, before making landfall on Cudjoe Key on September 10. Irma weakened to Category 3 status prior to another landfall in Florida on Marco Island later that day. The system degraded into a remnant low over Alabama, and ultimately dissipated on September 13 over Missouri. (Full article...)

The 2019 Pacific hurricane season was an above average season which produced nineteen named storms, most of which were rather weak and short-lived. Only seven hurricanes formed, the fewest since 2010. The season officially began on May 15 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; they both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Pacific basin. This season was one of the latest-starting Pacific hurricane seasons on record (reliable records began in 1971), with the first tropical cyclone, Hurricane Alvin, forming on June 25. The final system, Tropical Depression Twenty-One-E, dissipated on November 18.

The season had a rather slow start, with no cyclones forming in the basin before the month of June for the first time since 2011. The strongest hurricane of the season, Barbara, formed on June 30 and peaked as a high-end Category 4 hurricane on July 3. August was extremely quiet with no hurricanes forming during the month, a first for a season since 1973. September was much more active with six systems developing, of which three became hurricanes. Activity decreased appreciably in October and November as most of the storms remained weak and short-lived. (Full article...)

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2025)

No active systems

East and Central Pacific (2025)

No active systems

West Pacific (2025)

No active systems

North Indian Ocean (2025)

No active systems

Mediterranean (2024–25)

No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2024–25)

No active systems

Australian region (2024–25)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Errol

Tropical Low 30U

South Pacific (2024–25)

No active systems

South Atlantic (2024–25)

No active systems

Last updated: 21:13, 16 April 2025 (UTC)

April 16

• 1978 - Cyclone Hal starts becoming extratropical while it affects New Zealand from a severe tropical cyclone.
• 2003 - Typhoon Kujira (pictured) reached its peak intensity with winds of 250 km/h (155 mph) in the Philippine Sea. Kujira killed 2 people on Pohnpei in Micronesia.

April 17

• 2008 - Typhoon Neoguri reaches peak intensity with 1-minute winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) over in the South China Sea.
• 2016 - While moving through the Seychelles, Cyclone Fantala became the strongest recorded tropical cyclone in the south-west Indian Ocean, with 10-minute winds of 255 km/h (155 mph).
• 2021 - Typhoon Surigae (pictured) reaches peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 305 km/h (190 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 895 hPa, making it the strongest Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone to form before the month of May.

April 18

• 2000 - Tropical Storm Innocente (pictured) reached its peak intensity with winds of 65 km/h (40 mph) in the central Indian Ocean. Innocente did not affect any land.
• 2000 - Cyclone Paul begins weakening after it attained peak strength as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone by BoM.

• …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?
• …that Hurricane Otis (pictured) in 2023 was the first Pacific hurricane to make landfall at Category 5 intensity and surpassed Hurricane Patricia as the strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record?