Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the largest recorded tropical cyclone?
Typhoon Tip, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Warling, was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded. The forty-third tropical depression, nineteenth tropical storm, and twelfth typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, Tip developed out of a disturbance from the monsoon trough on October4 near Pohnpei. Initially, a tropical storm to the northwest hindered the development and motion of Tip, though after the storm tracked farther north, Tip was able to intensify. After passing Guam, Tip rapidly intensified and reached peak sustained winds of 305km/h (190mph)[nb 1] and a worldwide record-low sea-level pressure of 870mbar (870.0hPa; 25.69inHg) on October12. At its peak strength, it was also the second-largest tropical cyclone on record, with a wind diameter of 2,220km (1,380mi), behind only Typhoon Winnie in 1997.[1] Tip slowly weakened as it continued west-northwestward and later turned to the northeast, in response to an approaching trough. The typhoon made landfall in southern Japan on October19, and became an extratropical cyclone shortly thereafter.
Hurricane Gilbert was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season and peaked as a Category 5 strength hurricane that brought widespread destruction to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Gilbert was also one of the largest tropical cyclones ever observed in the Atlantic basin. At one point, its tropical storm-force winds measured in diameter. In addition, Gilbert was the most intense tropical cyclone in recorded history to strike Mexico.
Present day Bangladesh, due to its unique geographic location, suffers from devastating tropical cyclones frequently. The funnel-shaped northern portion of the Bay of Bengal amplifies the storm surge of landfalling tropical cyclones, affecting thousands of people. Some of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history with high casualties were tropical cyclones that hit the region now comprising present-day Bangladesh. Among them, the 1970 Bhola cyclone alone claimed approximately 300,000 to 500,000 lives, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone on record.
Tropical cyclones tend to be smaller during the mid-summer, and largest in October in the Northern Hemisphere. As tropical cyclones initially develop, the size of their ROCI initially contracts. Once tropical cyclones reach maturity, their isobaric patterns increase in size. During the mature stage, the broadening pressure pattern leads to some reduction in their maximum sustained wind, but the extent of their tropical storm and hurricane-force winds is the most extensive within the storm's life cycle. An increase in size is also noted as a tropical cyclone gains latitude. As tropical cyclones weaken, their ROCI values diminish. In general, the size of a tropical cyclone shows little relation to its intensity. Use of this measure has objectively determined that tropical cyclones in the northwest Pacific Ocean are the largest on earth on average, with North Atlantic tropical cyclones roughly half their size.
The 1997–98 season was one of the most active and longest South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with 16 tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W. The season was characterised by a very strong El Niño Event, which caused the South Pacific Convergence Zone, to move from its usual position near the Solomon Islands to the Northern Cook Islands. As a result, ten tropical cyclones formed to the east of the International Dateline, with seven of these tropical cyclones going on to affect French Polynesia. After the 1996-97 season had one of the latest ends to a season on record, the 1997-98 season started early with three tropical systems observed before the start of the season on November 1, 1997. Two other tropical systems, including the precursor tropical disturbance to Severe Tropical Cyclone Martin developed, before the official start of the season on November 1, 1997. Severe Tropical Cyclone Martin impacted the Cook Islands and French Polynesia, where it caused significant damage and 28 deaths during the opening days of the season. Tropical Cyclone Nute was named on November 18, before it moved out of the basin as a Category 2 tropical cyclone during November 19. During the rest of November, several tropical disturbances developed along the South Pacific Convergence Zone, including the precursor system to Severe Tropical Cyclone Osea and Tropical Cyclone Pam. Osea was named
Forming at 31° N, the storm formed farther north than any other Pacific tropical cyclone at the time, though, in 2000, Tropical Storm Wene formed farther to the north. The cyclone marked the first known occurrence of a mid-Pacific upper tropospheric low developing into a tropical cyclone, though Tropical Storm Fausto in 2002 redeveloped in a similar occurrence to the hurricane. The cyclone attained hurricane status at 40° N, a record for a Pacific hurricane. Only Tropical Storm Dot in 1970, Hurricane John in 1994, Tropical Depression Guillermo in 1997, and Tropical Storm Wene in 2000 were tropical cyclones north of the latitude, of which only John was a hurricane; none maintained tropical cyclone status further north than the cyclone.
As a consequence of Raquel developing into a tropical cyclone at 18:00 UTC (04:00 July 1, Australian Eastern Standard Time), it has been considered to be both the earliest and latest system in the Australian region and in the South Pacific Ocean. It was also the first tropical cyclone to exist in the South Pacific Ocean during July on record, while it was the third tropical cyclone on record in the Australian region during July. However, both records are considered patchy, as it is possible that tropical cyclones were missed by forecasters prior to satellite monitoring being introduced, while several tropical lows have also been monitored during July. The two tropical cyclones that were previously monitored in the Australian region during July, were Cyclone Lindsay of 1996 and an unnamed cyclone of 2007, both of which formed in the Indian Ocean.
Tropical cyclones are areas of relatively low pressure in the troposphere, with the largest pressure perturbations occurring at low altitudes near the surface. On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level. The environment near the center of tropical cyclones is warmer than the surroundings at all altitudes, thus they are characterized as "warm core" systems.
The first system to exist in the off-season on record was active during May 17, 1868 and was located near Vanuatu, according to records compiled by Stephen Sargent Visher. The most recent systems to exist in the off-season were Severe Tropical Cyclone Donna and Tropical Cyclone Ella, which both developed during May 2017. The strongest tropical cyclone to exist during the off-season in terms of wind speed was Severe Tropical Cyclone Donna of 2017, with maximum  of 125 mph (205 km/h), while the most intense by central pressure was Severe Tropical Cyclone Xavier of 2006, with a minimum value of 930 hPa (27.46 inHg). The deadliest and most damaging system was Severe Tropical Cyclone Namu, which caused over 100 deaths, when it impacted the Solomon Islands during May 1986.
Tropical cyclones in 2004 were spread out across seven different areas called basins; the strongest of these tropical cyclones was Cyclone Gafilo, which strengthened to a minimum barometric pressure of 895 mbar (hPa; 26.43 inHg) becomes the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean before striking the east coast of Madagascar. 130 tropical cyclones had formed this year to date. 81 tropical cyclones had been named by either a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC). The most active basin in 2004 was the Western Pacific, which documented 29 named systems, while the North Atlantic, despite only amounting to 15 named systems, was its basin's hyperactive season since 1995. Conversely, both the Eastern Pacific hurricane and North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons experienced the least number of cyclones reaching tropical storm intensity in recorded history, numbering 12 and 4, respectively. Activity across the southern hemisphere's three basins—South-West Indian, Australian, and South Pacific—was spread evenly, with each region recording seven named storms apiece.
Of the 57 known tropical systems that have been recorded during the off-season, a total of 33 tropical cyclones have been recorded in May or have persisted into the off-season after developing in April. A total of 18 tropical cyclones have developed during October, while three systems have been recorded in both June and July, while two have been recorded in September. The three systems recorded in June were all named tropical cyclones, with Gina and Keli considered to be a Category 3 severe tropical cyclones on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale. In addition Tropical Cyclone Raquel developed in June 2015 and was considered, to be the latest system to develop in the South Pacific Ocean. In addition as the system persisted into July 2015, it was unofficially considered to be a part of two tropical cyclone years. Off the two systems recorded in July, Tropical Depression 17F in July 2002 was designated 17F, despite being the first system of the 2002–03 season. Tropical Depression 01F/01P of July 2015, which subsequently persisted into August 2015. The first system that developed during September, was an unnamed system that occurred in 1924, which according to a report published by Greenpeace, caused damage to some ships to the west of New Caledonia. The other system was declared to be a tropical depression by the Fiji Meteorological Service during September 1999, but was more likely to be a hybrid system rather than a proper tropical depression.
List of tropical cyclone records Hurricane Patricia – second-most intense tropical cyclone, most intense ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, with the highest 1-minute maximum sustained winds recorded Typhoon Nancy (1961) Typhoon Wipha (2013) Typhoon Lan (2017) – another very large and powerful typhoon Tropical Storm Marco (2008) – the smallest tropical cyclone on record Typhoon Haiyan (2013) Typhoon Trami (2018) – affected the same general area. Typhoon Kong-rey (Queenie, 2018) Cyclone Mahina (1899) – The most intense storm recorded in the Southern Hemisphere Typhoon Winnie (1997) - the largest tropical cyclone on record
This is a list of tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin. See the list of tropical cyclone records for individual records set by individual tropical cyclones.
Storms with an intensity of 920 hPa (27.17 inHg) or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1985.
A total of 16 cyclones are listed down below reaching/surpassing that intensity, which most of them occurred during El Niño seasons. Tropical cyclones that have been recorded since the start of the 1969–70 Tropical Cyclone year and have reached their peak intensity to the west of 160E are included in the list. The most intense tropical cyclone in the south Pacific, Cyclone Winston of 2016, is also the most intense storm in the Southern Hemisphere.
The 2002–03 Australian region cyclone season included Cyclone Inigo, which tied with Cyclone Gwenda in 1999 as the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Australian basin. It began on 1 November 2002 and ended on 30 April 2003. The regional tropical cyclone operational plan also defines a "tropical cyclone year" separately from a "tropical cyclone season", which runs from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Australian region, which is defined as in the southern hemisphere between 90°E and 180°E. The season's ten tropical depressions existed within these dates, with the first, designated as Tropical Cyclone 07S, entering the basin on 27 December 2002. The last system, Cyclone Epi, dissipated on 6 June 2003. Tropical cyclones in this area were monitored by four Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs): the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) in Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane and one in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period of year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. However, as shown by Tropical Storm Arlene in April, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at other times of the year. In mid-June, Tropical Storm Bret struck the island of Trinidad, which is rarely struck by tropical cyclones, due to its low latitude. In late August, Hurricane Harvey became the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005 and the first Category 4 hurricane since Charley in 2004, while also tying the record for the costliest tropical cyclone on record, as well as the most rainfall dropped by a tropical cyclone in the United States. In early September, Hurricane Irma became the first Category 5 hurricane to impact the northern Leeward Islands on record, later making landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. In terms of maximum sustained winds, Irma is the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. In late September, Hurricane Maria became the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the island of Dominica on record. It later made landfall in Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 hurricane with catastrophic effect. Most of the deaths from this season occurred from Maria, and caused a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. In early October, Hurricane Nate became the fastest-moving tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico while also becoming the fourth hurricane of the year to make landfall in the contiguous United States. Slightly over a week later, Hurricane Ophelia became the easternmost major hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record, and later impacted most of Northern Europe as an extratropical cyclone. The season concluded with Tropical Storm Rina, which became a post-tropical cyclone on November 9, although the season did not officially end until November 30.
The 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone season's on record, with only four tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran from November 1, 2007 until April 30, 2008, although the first cyclone, Tropical Depression 01F, developed on October 17. The most intense tropical cyclone of the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Daman, which reached a minimum pressure of 925 hPa (27.32 inHg) as it affected Fiji. After the season had ended, the names Daman, Funa, and Gene were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists.
The 2011–12 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only three tropical cyclones occurring during the season. The season ran from November 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012, however, any tropical cyclones that form before June 30, 2012 would have fallen within the 2011–12 tropical cyclone year and would have counted towards the season total. The strongest and only severe tropical cyclone that occurred during the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasmine, which tracked in from out of the South Pacific basin. Within the basin, tropical cyclones are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji, and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) in Wellington, New Zealand. RSMC Nadi attaches an F designation to tropical disturbances that form in or move into the South Pacific. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issues unofficial warnings within the South Pacific, designating tropical storm-equivalent or greater tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix. RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measure windspeeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC measures sustained winds over a period of one minute and uses the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
According to the Fiji Meteorological Servcie, Susan had peak 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 230 km/h (145 mph) which made it a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale. The FMS also estimated that Susan had an estimated minimum pressure of 900 hPa (26.58 inHg), which made it one of the two most intense tropical cyclones on record in the Southern Pacific. This record was subsequently broken in 2002, when Severe Tropical Cyclone Zoe had an estimated minimum pressure of 890 hPa (26.28 inHg) and later in 2016 with Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston had an estimated minimum pressure of 884 hPa (26.1 inHg) and became the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the southern Pacific and Australian basins.
Hurricane John is the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, lasting 31 days in 1994. Before the advent of satellite imagery in 1961, however, many tropical cyclones were underestimated in their durations. John is also the longest-tracked tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere on record, which had a path of . Cyclone Rewa of the 1993–94 South Pacific and Australian region cyclone seasons had one of the longest tracks observed within the Southern Hemisphere, traveling a distance of over during December 1993 and January 1994.
Malta experienced a direct hit similar to a typical tropical cyclone from Qendresa. In St. Paul's Bay, a coastal town in northern Malta, the weather station of Buġibba recorded ten-minute sustained winds at 110.9 km/h (68.9 mph) and the gust at 153.7 km/h (95.5 mph) at 16:58 CET (15:58 UTC), the strongest recorded overland from a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone in history; about 15 minutes later, the central pressure at 978.6 hPa (28.90 inHg) was recorded inside the eye with totally calm conditions, the lowest of all Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones since reliable records. Weather stations across other areas also recorded significant gusts from Qendresa. At Malta International Airport, it recorded the gust at 119 km/h (73.9 mph). Lampedusa, the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands, recorded the gust at 135 km/h (83.9 mph). Qendresa drowned 3 people in Italy, and caused at least 250 million GBP (2014 EURO) in damages.
Tropical cyclones are defined as being warm cored, non-frontal synoptic cyclones, that develop over tropical or subtropical waters, with organized atmospheric convection and have a definite cyclonic surface wind circulation. They are classified by the wind speeds located around the circulation centre and are ranked, by the World Meteorological Organisation's Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers on one of five tropical cyclone scales. The scale used for a particular tropical cyclone depends on what basin the system is located in; with for example the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale and the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scales both used in the Western Hemisphere. All of the scales rank tropical cyclones using their maximum sustained winds, which are either observed, measured or estimated using various techniques, over a period between one and ten minutes.
Tropical cyclones in 2015 were spread out across seven different areas called basins; the strongest of these tropical cyclones was Hurricane Patricia, which strengthened to a minimum barometric pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; 25.75 inHg) before striking the east coast of Colima in Mexico. 140 tropical cyclones had formed this year to date. 95 tropical cyclones had been named by either a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC). The most active basin in 2015 was the Western Pacific, which documented 27 named systems, while the Eastern Pacific, despite only amounting to 26 named systems, was its basin's most active since 1992. Conversely, both the North Atlantic hurricane and North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons experienced the least number of cyclones reaching tropical storm intensity in recorded history, numbering 11 and 4, respectively. Activity across the southern hemisphere's three basins—South-West Indian, Australian, and South Pacific—was spread evenly, with each region recording seven named storms apiece. That hemisphere's strongest tropical cyclone was Cyclone Pam, which bottomed out with a barometric pressure of 896 mbar (hPa; 26.46 inHg) in the South-Pacific Ocean.
In addition to being the most intense tropical cyclone on record based on pressure, Tip was the largest cyclone on record, with tropical storm-force winds in diameter. The smallest storm on record, Tropical Storm Marco, formed during October 2008 and making landfall in Veracruz. Marco generated tropical storm-force winds only in diameter.
Hurricane Olga was the largest tropical cyclone by diameter of gale-force winds on record in the Atlantic. The fifteenth named storm, ninth and final hurricane of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, Olga formed as a subtropical cyclone on November 24. After acquiring tropical characteristics later that day, Olga meandered westward, and eventually reached hurricane status on November 26. Olga peaked as a 90 mph (150 km/h) Category 1 hurricane before the storm turned southwestward and weakening back into a tropical storm. On November 30 it deteriorated further to a tropical depression, although it re-intensified two days later to tropical storm intensity. Olga then dissipated as a tropical cyclone on December 4 east of the Bahamas. Its damaging effects were limited to ships at sea. The cyclone's remnants produced heavy rainfall across the Bahamas and Florida. It was a relatively rare storm to exist in December, which is outside of the normal Atlantic hurricane season.