Tropical Cyclones In 2002
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During 2002, tropical cyclones formed within seven different tropical cyclone basins, located within various parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Throughout the year, a total of 123 tropical cyclones formed, of which 80 tropical cyclones developed enough to be named by either a
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as ...
(RSMC) or a
Tropical Cyclone Warning Center A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as ...
(TCWC). The strongest system was
Cyclone Zoe Severe Tropical Cyclone Zoe was the second-most intense tropical cyclone on record within the Southern Hemisphere and was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2002. The system was first noted on December 23, 2002, as a tropical depressi ...
, with a
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...
of . The costliest and deadliest tropical cyclone of the year was Typhoon Rusa, killing 238 in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and causing $4.2 billion (2002 USD) in damages. 26 Category 3 tropical cyclones, including eight Category 5 tropical cyclones formed in 2002. The
accumulated cyclone energy Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) is a metric used to compare overall activity of tropical cyclones, utilizing the available records of windspeeds at six-hour intervals to synthesize storm duration and strength into a single index value. The ACE ...
(ACE) index for the 2002 (seven basins combined), as calculated by
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
was 812 units. Tropical cyclone activity in each basin is under the authority of an RSMC. The
National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the IERS Reference Meridian, Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian ...
(NHC) is responsible for tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and East Pacific. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) is responsible for tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific. Both the NHC and CPHC are subdivisions of the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
. Activity in the West Pacific is monitored by the
Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...
(JMA). Systems in the North Indian Ocean are monitored by the
India Meteorological Department India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an Indian agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquar ...
(IMD). The
Météo-France Météo-France is the official French meteorological administration, also offering services to Andorra and Monaco. It has the powers of the state and can exercise them in relation to meteorology. Météo-France is in charge of observing, study ...
located in
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
(MFR) monitors tropical activity in the South-West Indian Ocean. The Australian region is monitored by five TCWCs that are under the coordination of the Australian
Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...
(BOM). Similarly, the South Pacific is monitored by both the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) and the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited. Other, unofficial agencies that provide additional guidance in tropical cyclone monitoring include the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) agency of the P ...
(PAGASA) and the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC).


Global atmospheric and hydrological conditions

In the seven basins, there are a variety of different factors that impact
tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropics, tropical cyclogenesis occur are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occu ...
. One of the most important factors is the presence or lack of
El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon that emerges from variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Those variations have an irregular pattern but do have some semblance of cyc ...
, which was present for much of the second half of 2002. El Niño is caused by the replacement of the Walker circulation by the Hadley circulation. This leads to the formation of a band of warm ocean water in the equatorial Eastern Pacific basin, marked by a reduction in
upwelling Upwelling is an physical oceanography, oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted sur ...
. The El Niño phenomenon has global effects on cyclone formation, development, and tracks. In the Atlantic Ocean, El Niño years see less active hurricane seasons due to stronger westerly winds, which cause increased vertical
wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...
, inhibiting cyclonic development. By contrast, the Eastern Pacific basin exhibits lower wind shear and higher
sea surface temperatures Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...
, leading to more active cyclone seasons. In the Western Pacific, tropical cyclone formation shifts eastward, without a major change in activity; thus, a typhoon that would normally affect
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
might shift to instead impact
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
. In the Southern Hemisphere, the situation in the Northern Hemisphere is mirrored: the Australian region sees fewer cyclones, while the South Pacific becomes more active. All these factors were present in 2002: the Atlantic hurricane season was slightly below-average, the Eastern Pacific had an unusually high number of major hurricanes, the Western Pacific saw a dearth of activity in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
in conjunction with an abnormally strong
subtropical ridge The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressur ...
, and the Australian region saw no storms in the second half of 2002, while the South Pacific season was one of the most intense on record.


Summary

ImageSize = width:1600 height:400 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:20 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:30/12/2001 till:16/01/2003 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/01/2002 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:NATL value:blue legend: North_Atlantic_Ocean id:EPAC/CPAC value:green legend: East_and_Central_Pacific_Ocean id:WPAC value:red legend: West_Pacific_Ocean id:NIO value:orange legend: North_Indian_Ocean id:SWIO value:purple legend: Southwest_Indian_Ocean id:SPAC value:yellow legend: South_Pacific_Ocean id:AUSR value:pink legend: Australian_Region id:SATL value:black legend: South_Atlantic_Ocean id:MED value:gray(0.99) legend: Mediterranean_Sea Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:30/12/2001 till:03/01/2002 color:SWIO text:" Cyprien" from:30/12/2001 till:06/01/2002 color:AUSR text:"Bernie" from:31/12/2001 till:06/01/2002 color:SPAC text:"05F" from:09/01/2002 till:14/01/2002 color:WPAC text:"Tapah" from:15/01/2002 till:16/01/2002 color:SPAC text:"06F" from:16/01/2002 till:25/01/2002 color:SWIO text:" Dina" from:20/01/2002 till:27/01/2002 color:SPAC text:"07F" from:22/01/2002 till:30/01/2002 color:SWIO text:"Eddy" from:30/01/2002 till:11/02/2002 color:SWIO text:"Francesca" from:02/02/2002 till:06/02/2002 color:AUSR text:"
Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...
" from:05/02/2002 till:06/02/2002 color:SWIO text:"09" from:09/02/2002 till:13/02/2002 color:AUSR text:"TL" from:11/02/2002 till:14/02/2002 color:AUSR text:"Claudia" from:14/02/2002 till:23/02/2002 color:SWIO text:"Guillaume" from:15/02/2002 till:16/02/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:16/02/2002 till:28/02/2002 color:AUSR text:"TL" from:17/02/2002 till:18/02/2002 color:SPAC text:"09F" from:23/02/2002 till:26/02/2002 color:SPAC text:"10F" from:26/02/2002 till:27/02/2002 color:SPAC text:"11F" from:26/02/2002 till:09/03/2002 color:WPAC text:" Mitag" barset:break from:04/03/2002 till:07/03/2002 color:AUSR text:"Des" from:05/03/2002 till:13/03/2002 color:SWIO text:" Hary" from:13/03/2002 till:16/03/2002 color:SPAC text:"13F" from:18/03/2002 till:23/03/2002 color:SPAC text:"14F" from:19/03/2002 till:25/03/2002 color:WPAC text:"Caloy" from:21/03/2002 till:29/03/2002 color:SWIO text:"Ikala" from:01/04/2002 till:02/04/2002 color:SPAC text:"15F" from:05/04/2002 till:08/04/2002 color:WPAC text:"04W" from:07/04/2002 till:11/04/2002 color:AUSR text:"Dianne–Jery" from:09/04/2002 till:14/04/2002 color:AUSR text:"Bonnie" from:17/04/2002 till:22/04/2002 color:SPAC text:"16F" from:02/05/2002 till:11/05/2002 color:SWIO text:" Kesiny" from:06/05/2002 till:10/05/2002 color:NIO text:" ARB 01" from:09/05/2002 till:15/05/2002 color:AUSR text:"Errol" from:10/05/2002 till:12/05/2002 color:NIO text:"BOB 01" from:14/05/2002 till:21/05/2002 color:WPAC text:"Hagibis" from:17/05/2002 till:19/05/2002 color:NIO text:"Unnumbered" from:24/05/2002 till:01/06/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Alma" from:26/05/2002 till:29/05/2002 color:AUSR text:"Upia" from:26/05/2002 till:30/05/2002 color:WPAC text:"Dagul" barset:break from:27/05/2002 till:29/05/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:03/06/2002 till:05/06/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:04/06/2002 till:11/06/2002 color:WPAC text:"Noguri" from:08/06/2002 till:11/06/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Boris" from:13/06/2002 till:15/06/2002 color:SWIO text:"15" from:27/06/2002 till:29/06/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Three-E" from:28/06/2002 till:06/07/2002 color:WPAC text:" Rammasun" from:28/06/2002 till:11/07/2002 color:WPAC text:" Chataan" from:03/07/2002 till:04/07/2002 color:SPAC text:"17F" from:06/07/2002 till:16/07/2002 color:WPAC text:" Halong" from:07/07/2002 till:13/07/2002 color:WPAC text:"Nakri" from:09/07/2002 till:16/07/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Cristina" from:13/07/2002 till:28/07/2002 color:WPAC text:" Fengshen" from:14/07/2002 till:16/07/2002 color:NATL text:"
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
" from:18/07/2002 till:23/07/2002 color:WPAC text:"Juan" from:18/07/2002 till:27/07/2002 color:WPAC text:"Fung-wong" from:20/07/2002 till:26/07/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Douglas" from:20/07/2002 till:21/07/2002 color:WPAC text:"Kalmaegi" from:23/07/2002 till:30/07/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:" Elida" from:25/07/2002 till:26/07/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" barset:break from:29/07/2002 till:30/07/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:02/08/2002 till:07/08/2002 color:WPAC text:" Kammuri" from:04/08/2002 till:09/08/2002 color:NATL text:" Bertha" from:05/08/2002 till:05/08/2002 color:WPAC text:"17W" from:05/08/2002 till:08/08/2002 color:NATL text:" Cristobal" from:06/08/2002 till:08/08/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Seven-E" from:11/08/2002 till:14/08/2002 color:WPAC text:"Milenyo" from:11/08/2002 till:20/08/2002 color:WPAC text:"Phanfone" from:15/08/2002 till:20/08/2002 color:WPAC text:"Vongfong" from:21/08/2002 till:03/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:" Fausto" from:22/08/2002 till:28/08/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Alika" from:22/08/2002 till:01/09/2002 color:WPAC text:" Rusa" from:26/08/2002 till:01/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Genevieve" from:27/08/2002 till:09/09/2002 color:WPAC text:" Sinlaku" from:27/08/2002 till:10/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Ele" from:29/08/2002 till:04/09/2002 color:NATL text:"Dolly" from:30/08/2002 till:06/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:" Hernan" from:01/09/2002 till:06/09/2002 color:NATL text:" Edouard" from:05/09/2002 till:08/09/2002 color:NATL text:" Fay" from:05/09/2002 till:08/09/2002 color:SWIO text:"01" barset:break from:05/09/2002 till:08/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Eleven-E" from:07/09/2002 till:08/09/2002 color:NATL text:"Seven" from:08/09/2002 till:12/09/2002 color:NATL text:" Gustav" from:09/09/2002 till:16/09/2002 color:WPAC text:"Hagupit" from:12/09/2002 till:15/09/2002 color:NATL text:" Hanna" from:14/09/2002 till:27/09/2002 color:NATL text:"
Isidore Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...
from:15/09/2002 till:20/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Iselle" from:17/09/2002 till:19/09/2002 color:NATL text:"Josephine" from:18/09/2002 till:19/09/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:20/09/2002 till:12/10/2002 color:NATL text:" Kyle" from:21/09/2002 till:04/10/2002 color:NATL text:" Lili from:21/09/2002 till:22/09/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:22/09/2002 till:28/09/2002 color:WPAC text:"Mekkhala" from:25/09/2002 till:26/09/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Julio" from:26/09/2002 till:02/10/2002 color:WPAC text:" Higos" from:08/10/2002 till:13/10/2002 color:WPAC text:"Bavi" from:12/10/2002 till:12/10/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:14/10/2002 till:16/10/2002 color:NATL text:"Fourteen" from:17/10/2002 till:19/10/2002 color:WPAC text:"27W" from:18/10/2002 till:20/10/2002 color:WPAC text:"28W" barset:break from:19/10/2002 till:21/10/2002 color:SPAC text:"01F" from:22/10/2002 till:26/10/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:" Kenna" from:22/10/2002 till:25/10/2002 color:NIO text:"BOB 02" from:22/10/2002 till:31/10/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Lowell" from:23/10/2002 till:24/10/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:24/10/2002 till:03/11/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Huko" from:26/10/2002 till:30/10/2002 color:WPAC text:"Maysak" from:04/11/2002 till:13/11/2002 color:SWIO text:"Atang" from:10/11/2002 till:12/11/2002 color:NIO text:" BOB 03" from:14/11/2002 till:16/11/2002 color:EPAC/CPAC text:"Sixteen-E" from:14/11/2002 till:27/11/2002 color:SWIO text:"Boura" from:20/11/2002 till:25/11/2002 color:WPAC text:"Haishen" from:23/11/2002 till:28/11/2002 color:NIO text:"BOB 04" from:27/11/2002 till:27/11/2002 color:WPAC text:"TD" from:29/11/2002 till:06/12/2002 color:SPAC text:"Yolande" from:02/12/2002 till:11/12/2002 color:WPAC text:" Pongsona" from:10/12/2002 till:13/12/2002 color:SPAC text:"03F" from:21/12/2002 till:29/12/2002 color:SWIO text:"Crystal" from:22/12/2002 till:25/12/2002 color:NIO text:"BOB 05" from:25/12/2002 till:01/01/2003 color:SPAC text:" Zoe" barset:break from:27/12/2002 till:03/01/2003 color:AUSR text:"07S" from:30/12/2002 till:09/01/2003 color:SWIO text:" Delfina" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:30/12/2001 till:01/01/2002 text:Dec. '01 from:01/01/2002 till:01/02/2002 text:January from:01/02/2002 till:28/02/2002 text:February from:01/03/2002 till:01/04/2002 text:March from:01/04/2002 till:01/05/2002 text:April from:01/05/2002 till:01/06/2002 text:May from:01/06/2002 till:01/07/2002 text:June from:01/07/2002 till:01/08/2002 text:July from:01/08/2002 till:01/09/2002 text:August from:01/09/2002 till:01/10/2002 text:September from:01/10/2002 till:01/11/2002 text:October from:01/11/2002 till:01/12/2002 text:November from:01/12/2002 till:31/12/2002 text:December from:01/01/2003 till:09/01/2003 text:Jan. '03 TextData = pos:(690,30) text:"This table is based on the" pos:(810,30) text:" tropical cyclone basins"


North Atlantic Ocean

The 2002 season was near-normal in activity, with twelve tropical storms forming, but had a below-average amount of more intense storms, with only four hurricanes and two major hurricanes. A more accurate picture of the season's activity is its
accumulated cyclone energy Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) is a metric used to compare overall activity of tropical cyclones, utilizing the available records of windspeeds at six-hour intervals to synthesize storm duration and strength into a single index value. The ACE ...
(ACE), which gives higher weight to more intense tropical cyclones and longer-lived tropical cyclones – thus, a season with many weak and short-lived storms will have a lower ACE, while a season with a few long-lived intense hurricanes will have a higher ACE despite superficially appearing to be a less active season. The ACE for the 2002 season was 65.1, only three-fourths of the long-term average of 87.5, classifying the 2002 season as slightly below-average. The season had a rather late start, with the first storm,
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
, forming on 14 July, causing one death in the
American Southeast The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and the southern portion of the Eastern Uni ...
. Arthur was followed by five more tropical storms over the next two months, of which several caused significant damage, most notably Tropical Storm Fay, which made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in Texas on 7 August, causing in damage. Tropical Storms Bertha and Cristobal also caused minor damage and deaths, to the
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...
and Eastern Seaboard, respectively. On 8 September, Subtropical Storm Gustav formed between the Bahamas and Bermuda, becoming the first-ever Atlantic subtropical cyclone to receive a name from the regular naming list. Three days later, Gustav intensified into a hurricane, becoming the latest first hurricane of the season since
1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
. The hurricane would later affect land, causing several hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage along the East Coast. A few days later, Tropical Storm Hanna formed, which would soon make landfall in and cause in damage to the Gulf Coast. On 14 September, a depression formed near
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
, then degenerated into a tropical wave the next day. As the tropical wave moved west over the next few days, it reorganized as a tropical depression, intensifying into Tropical Storm Isidore on 18 September. The next day, Isidore intensified into a hurricane, making landfall in western Cuba on 20 September before turning west and making landfall on the northern coast of the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
as a Category 3 hurricane the next day. After the landfall, the storm turned north, hitting Louisiana as a tropical storm on 26 September before dissipating. Isidore was the most destructive storm of the season, causing and killing 22 people, mostly in the Yucatán Peninsula. The next storm to affect land was Hurricane Lili, which formed on 21 September east of the Lesser Antilles. After intensifying into a tropical storm, Lili degenerated into a tropical wave, reforming as a tropical storm southeast of Jamaica on 26 September. Lili became a hurricane near the
Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...
and made landfall in western Cuba on 1 October at Category 2 intensity. Moving northwest, the storm intensified into a Category 4 hurricane, reaching its peak intensity of , the highest wind speed of any Atlantic hurricane in 2002. Lili weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, making landfall in Louisiana on 3 October before dissipating the next day. With in damage and 15 deaths to Louisiana and the Caribbean Islands, Lili was the second-costliest and second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane of 2002. About a week after Lili dissipated, the long-lived Hurricane Kyle, which had formed on 20 September, approached the Carolinas as a tropical storm. Kyle made two separate landfalls on 11 October, one in South Carolina and one in North Carolina, causing in damage before becoming extratropical the next day. Its remnants caused one death in Britain. Lasting twenty-two days, Kyle was the longest-lived tropical cyclone of 2002 and the fourth-longest-lived Atlantic hurricane ever. The 2002 season was an anomaly, setting records for both activity and inactivity. It broke the record for the most active September, with eight named storms forming, tied in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
and
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and broken in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
. However, the length of the season – the amount of time from the first storm to the last storm – was only three months, the shortest since
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
. There was also an unusual lack of storms forming from tropical waves. Usually the most common source of tropical cyclogenesis, only Dolly, Isidore, and Lili formed this way, with the other storms forming from subtropical or non-tropical systems. This abnormal activity was caused by a moderate El Niño, which allowed high wind shear to exist across the Atlantic except in September, when the El Niño temporarily weakened and wind shear decreased. Wind shear was especially high in areas with high tropical wave formation levels, such as the Caribbean Sea.


Eastern Pacific Ocean

The season was slightly above average as it saw three
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
s reach Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale, tied for the most in a season with
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
and
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
. The strongest storm this year was Hurricane Kenna, which reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It made landfall near
Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...
, located in the Mexican state of
Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
, on October 25. Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Julio made landfall in Mexico, and Tropical Storm Boris dumped torrential rain along the Mexican coast, despite remaining offshore. Other storms were individually unusual. Hurricanes Elida and Hernan also reached Category 5 intensity, but neither caused any damage. Hurricane Fausto had no effect on land, but it regenerated into a weak tropical storm at an abnormally high latitude.


Western Pacific Ocean

The season was slightly above average with many
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
s affecting Japan and China. Every month had tropical activity, with most storms forming from July through October. Overall, there were 44 tropical depressions declared officially or unofficially, of which 26 became named storms; of those, there were 15 
typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
s, which is the equivalent of a minimal
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
, while 8 of the 15 typhoon intensified into super typhoons unofficially by the JTWC. The season began early with the first storm, Tapah, developing on January 10, east of the Philippines. Two months later, Typhoon Mitag became the first
super typhoon Since 1947, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has classified all typhoons in the Tropical cyclone basins#Northwestern Pacific Ocean, Northwestern Pacific Ocean with wind speeds of at least —the equivalent of a strong Category 4 on th ...
ever to be recorded in March. In June, Typhoon Chataan dropped heavy rainfall in the
Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...
, killing 48 people and becoming the deadliest natural disaster in the state of Chuuk. Chataan later left heavy damage in
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
before striking Japan. In August, Typhoon Rusa became the deadliest typhoon in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
in 43 years, causing 238 deaths and $4.2 billion in damage. Typhoon Higos in October was the fifth strongest typhoon to strike Tokyo since World War II. The final typhoon of the season was Typhoon Pongsona, which was one of the costliest storms on record in Guam; it did damage worth $700 million on the island before dissipating on December 11. The season began early, but did not become active until June, when six storms passed near or over Japan after a
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
weakened. Nine storms developed in July, many of which influenced the monsoon trough over the Philippines to produce heavy rainfall and deadly flooding. The flooding was worst in Luzon, where 85 people were killed. The series of storms caused the widespread closure of schools and offices. Many roads were damaged, and the floods left about $1.8 million (₱94.2 million
PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared towards web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by the PHP Group. ...
) in crop damage, largely to rice and corn. Overall damage from the series of storms was estimated at $10.3 million (₱522 million PHP). From June to September, heavy rainfall affected large portions of China, resulting in devastating flooding that killed over 1,500 people and left $8.2 billion (¥68 billion CNY) in damage. During this time, Tropical Storm Kammuri struck southern China with a large area of rainfall that damaged or destroyed 245,000 houses. There were 153 deaths related to the storm, mostly inland in
Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
, and damage totaled $322 million (¥2.665 billion CNY). Activity shifted farther to the east after September, with Typhoon Higos striking Japan in October and Typhoon Pongsona hitting Guam in December. During most of the year,
sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...
s were above normal near the equator, and were highest around 160°  E from January to July, and in November. Areas of
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
developed farther east than usual, causing many storms to develop east of 150° E. The average point of formation was 145.9° E, the easternmost point since
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
. Partially as a result, no tropical storms made landfall in the Philippines for the first time since 1951, according to the JMA. Two storms – Ele and Huko – entered the basin from the Central Pacific, east of the International Date Line. Overall, there were 26  named storms in the basin in 2002, which was slightly below the norm of 26.7. A total of 15 of the 26 storms became typhoons, a slightly higher than normal proportion.


North Indian Ocean

The season was below average, with only seven tropical cyclones, four cyclonic storms, and one severe cyclonic storm. The first storm, in the Arabian Sea, formed on May 6 from a
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...
. It went on to strengthen into a weak cyclonic storm, being designated ARB 01, and make landfall in
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
four days later, causing intense damage. ARB 01 simultaneously dissipated. The rest of May featured two tropical depressions. The first, according to the JTWC, reached tropical storm-equivalent strength and made landfall in Myanmar. The second was recognized only by the Thailand Meteorological Department and was not given a number. There was no activity in June, July, August, or September, the first instance of such in the history of the IMD. Then, on October 22, Depression BOB 02 formed. It did not intensify and dissipated two days later. No storms formed again until BOB 03 on November 10. This storm strengthened into a severe cyclonic storm, before making landfall in
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
two days later and dissipating. Like all the other storms in the season, BOB 03 failed to reach hurricane strength. Two more cyclonic storms formed in the Bay of Bengal. BOB 04 was in late November and did not affect land. BOB 05 formed very far south on December 21, scraped
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, and dissipated in the open bay.


South Pacific Ocean


2001–02

2002 began with two storms active in the basin: Severe Tropical Cyclone Waka and Tropical Depression 05F. Waka, at the time, was a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone near
Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...
. Waka dissipated on January 2, and nothing formed but tropical depressions until Severe Tropical Cyclone Claudia entered the basin on February 12. Claudia rapidly weakened and dissipated two days later. The next tropical cyclone, Des, also crossed over, on March 5. Due to unfavorable conditions, Des soon dissipated. Following Des's dissipation, four official and one unofficial tropical depression formed. The season ended on April 22. The 2001–02 season was one of the least active on record.


2002–03

The season began very early, starting with Tropical Depression 17F on July 3. After that, however, the season was quiet, with one tropical depression forming in mid October. By November, a tropical cyclone, Yolande had formed, as well as another tropical depression. In December, activity sped up, with
Cyclone Zoe Severe Tropical Cyclone Zoe was the second-most intense tropical cyclone on record within the Southern Hemisphere and was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2002. The system was first noted on December 23, 2002, as a tropical depressi ...
, a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone, forming. With seven severe tropical cyclones in total, the 2002–03 season was one of the most active ever recorded.


Australian region


2001–02

On 1 January 2002, Tropical Cyclone Bernie had just formed near
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. Bernie made landfall in Northern Territory four days later, causing minor damages, and then dissipated. Then, on 2 February, Tropical Cyclone Chris formed. It rapidly intensified into a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone. On 6 February, Chris made landfall in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, and dissipated later in the day. Chris caused 12 deaths and some damage. Five days later, Tropical Cyclone Claudia formed, and dissipated without affecting land. After another tropical low, Tropical Cyclone Des formed on 4 March near
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. Three days later, Des crossed over to the South Pacific. After Des, the season was quiet until a tropical cyclone was named Dianne on 7 April. Dianne passed close to the
Cocos Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...
, intensified into a Category 3 tropical cyclone, and moved westward into the South-West Indian Ocean on 11 April. Simultaneously with Dianne, Tropical Cyclone Bonnie was forming. On 11 April, Bonnie moved over
Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...
and
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
and caused some damage, killing 19 people. In early May, Tropical Low Errol formed. On 26 May, Tropical Cyclone Upia, the season's last storm, formed near
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
and was named by TCWC Port Moresby. It crossed Budibudi Island, east of Woodlark Island, and caused severe damage there. Once Upia dissipated on 28 May, the season was over. The 2001–02 season was a near-normal tropical cyclone season.


2002–03

In 2002, this season was very inactive. According to the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
, the first tropical cyclone of the year, Tropical Depression 07S formed on 27 December. It did not strengthen, and dissipated on 3 January 2003. It was not recognised by the BoM.


South-West Indian Ocean


2001–02

The 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was very active from its start. The 2002 half of the season began with
Tropical Storm Cyprien Severe Tropical Storm Cyprien (Joint Typhoon Warning Center, JTWC designation: ''08S'') was a short-lived tropical cyclone that caused minor damage in Madagascar. Forming on December 30, 2001, Cyprien quickly strengthened in a slightly favorable e ...
, which made landfall in western Madagascar and dissipated on 3 January. Two weeks later, Intense Tropical Cyclone Dina formed, causing record flooding in Mauritius and Reunion. Approximately fifteen people died in the storm. Towards the end of January, Tropical Cyclone Eddy formed, but dissipated on 30 January without affecting land. On the day that Eddy dissipated, a tropical low crossed into the basin and eventually became Intense Tropical Cyclone Francesca. Francesca moved southward, and in the open ocean, dissipated on 11 February. On 5 February, a tropical disturbance, classified as ''09'', formed in the
Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
, and dissipated the very next day. In mid-February, a tropical depression formed over Madagascar. Moving east, it strengthened into Intense Tropical Cyclone Guillaume. On 18 February, Guillaume moved to the south and affected
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. In the following days, Guillaume deteriorated due to wind shear, and dissipated on 23 February. On 5 March, Cyclone Hary formed. The most intense storm of the season, Hary made landfall in Madagascar, causing four fatalities. Later in March, Tropical Cyclone Ikala developed in the south-central Indian Ocean, moving south and dissipating without affecting land. On 9 April, Tropical Cyclone Dianne crossed over from the Australian region and was renamed Jery, becoming extratropical two days later without affecting land. The final storm of the season was Cyclone Kesiny, which became the first cyclone in the basin's history to make landfall in May when the storm struck
Toamasina Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French language, French Tamatave or in the past as Port aux prunes, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief ...
on 9 May, causing 33 deaths and upwards of 1,200 injuries.


2002–03

The 2002–03 season was one of the most active on record, lasting an unprecedented eight months. The season started off early, with an unnamed tropical storm forming in early September. The storm inflicted $50,000 damages on
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
, the most destruction caused by a tropical cyclone in 50 years, before dissipating on 8 September. In November, Tropical Depression Atang formed, nearly dissipating and reorganizing several times before making landfall in northern Mozambique on 12 November. There were no confirmed deaths caused by Atang. Days later, Tropical Cyclone Boura formed, moving west and dissipating two weeks later without affecting land. On 21 December, Tropical Storm Crystal formed. The storm moved to the south, passing near Mauritius without effect before dissipating on 29 December. The final storm in 2002, Severe Tropical Storm Delfina, made landfall in Mozambique on 31 December, causing 47 deaths.


Systems


January

In January, the
Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...
(ITCZ), which allows for the formation of tropical waves, is located in the Southern Hemisphere, remaining there until May. This limits
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...
cyclone formation to comparatively rare non-tropical sources. In addition, the month's climate is also an important factor. In the Southern Hemisphere basins, January, at the height of the austral summer, is the most active month by cumulative number of storms since records began. Of the four Northern Hemisphere basins, none is very active in January, as the month is during the winter, but the most active basin is the Western Pacific, which occasionally sees weak tropical storms form during the month. In 2002, January saw six tropical cyclones form, of which four were named. This does not include the three tropical cyclones that were active when the year began: Tropical Cyclone Bernie in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Tropical Storm Cyprien Severe Tropical Storm Cyprien (Joint Typhoon Warning Center, JTWC designation: ''08S'') was a short-lived tropical cyclone that caused minor damage in Madagascar. Forming on December 30, 2001, Cyprien quickly strengthened in a slightly favorable e ...
in
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, and Tropical Depression 05F in the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
. After these storms dissipated, Tropical Storm Tapah formed on 9 January, becoming the first Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone in 2002. On 16 January, Cyclone Dina formed in the South-West Indian Ocean. Dina would become the only January cyclone to cause significant damage to land, inflicting $287 million in damages and fifteen fatalities in
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
. The storm was also the most intense of the month, featuring a central pressure of .


February

In terms of activity, February is normally similar to January, with activity effectively restricted to the Southern Hemisphere excepting the rare Western Pacific storm. In fact, in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
being at its height, February tends to see more formation of strong tropical cyclones than January despite seeing marginally fewer overall storms. In the Northern Hemisphere, February is the least active month, with no Eastern or Central Pacific tropical cyclones and only one Atlantic tropical cyclone having ever formed in the month. Even in the Western Pacific, February activity is low: in 2002, the month had never seen any typhoon-strength storms, with the first being 2015's Typhoon Higos. The month saw a high number of tropical cyclones – eleven – although most failed to develop past depression intensity, with only four being named. The first storm to form in February, Cyclone Chris, would also become the strongest, with a pressure of , and deadliest, causing twelve deaths, of the month. Chris made landfall in Western Australia, causing just short of $1 million in damage. It would become the only hurricane-strength cyclone to make landfall in Australia in 2002. The only other storm forming that month to cause significant damage to land was Typhoon Mitag, which formed on 26 February near the
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...
. Mitag would intensify to become the first
super typhoon Since 1947, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has classified all typhoons in the Tropical cyclone basins#Northwestern Pacific Ocean, Northwestern Pacific Ocean with wind speeds of at least —the equivalent of a strong Category 4 on th ...
ever in March, eventually causing $150 million in damage to Micronesia.


March

During March, activity tends to be lower than in preceding months. In the Southern Hemisphere, the peak of the season has normally already passed, and the monsoon has begun to weaken, decreasing cyclonic activity, however, the month often sees more intense tropical cyclones than January or February. Meanwhile, in the Northern Hemisphere basins, sea surface temperatures are still far too low to normally support tropical cyclogenesis. The exception is the Western Pacific, which usually sees its first storm, often a weak depression, at some point between January and April. In 2002, a total of six systems formed during March, of which three intensified into tropical storms. The most intense storm of the month was Cyclone Hary, which formed in the South-West Indian Ocean on 5 March. It intensified to attain a pressure of , making Hary the most intense storm thus far in the year, before making landfall in Madagascar, causing four deaths. The only other storm to affect land that month was Tropical Depression 03W, which made landfall in the Philippines, causing $2.4 million in damage and 35 deaths.


April

The factors that begin to inhibit Southern Hemisphere cyclone formation in March are even more pronounced in April, with the average number of storms formed being hardly half that of March. However, even this limited activity exceeds the activity in the Northern Hemisphere, which is rare, with the exception of the Western Pacific basin. All Pacific typhoon seasons between
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
and
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
saw activity between January and April, although many of these seasons saw only weak tropical depressions. By contrast, only two
Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when Tropical cyclone, tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention ...
s during those years saw tropical cyclone formation during that period. With the combination of the decreasing temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere and the still-low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, April and May tend to be the least active months worldwide for tropical cyclone formation. April 2002 was an example of this phenomenon, with only five tropical cyclones forming, and only two becoming tropical storms, making the month the least active of 2002. Of those two storms, the stronger was Tropical Cyclone Dianne–Jery, which formed in the Australian region on 7 April and crossed over to the South-West Indian Ocean before dissipating on 11 April. No storms in April caused any known damage to land.


May

Around the middle of May, the
Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...
(ITCZ), which allows for the formation of tropical waves and has previously remained in the Southern Hemisphere for the first five months of the year, moves to the Northern Hemisphere, allowing the northern cyclone seasons to start in earnest. Without the presence of the ITCZ, Southern Hemisphere cyclones must form from non-wave sources, which are rarer. For that reason, cyclone formation is relatively sparse, with May tending to be the month of the final storm in each of the three basins. Meanwhile, more intense storms are nearly unheard of, with the South-West Indian Ocean having seen only one intense tropical cyclone and no very intense tropical cyclones in the month, and the other two basins having similarly low levels of activity in May. In the Northern Hemisphere, May is the first month most basins see activity, due to the new presence of the ITCZ. The
Pacific hurricane A Pacific hurricane is a tropical cyclone that develops within the northeastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regions: t ...
season begins on May 15, and although the
Atlantic hurricane An Atlantic hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean primarily between June and November. The terms "hurricane", "typhoon", and "cyclone, tropical cyclone" can be used interchangeably to describe this weather ph ...
season officially begins on June 1, off-season storms are very common, with over half of the 21st century seasons seeing a storm form in May. Although the
North Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it ...
has no official start or end date, due to the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
, mid-May is the beginning of a month-long period of high activity in the basin. Even in the Western Pacific, activity tends to increase throughout May. In 2002, May was significantly more active, with ten storms forming, of which five were named. The most intense storm of the month was Typhoon Hagibis, which was the second
super typhoon Since 1947, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has classified all typhoons in the Tropical cyclone basins#Northwestern Pacific Ocean, Northwestern Pacific Ocean with wind speeds of at least —the equivalent of a strong Category 4 on th ...
of the season. It formed near the Caroline Islands on 15 May and moved north, reaching a central pressure of , although failed to significantly affect land due to a track far to the east. The costliest May storm was a storm in the North Indian Ocean which formed in the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
on 6 June. The storm made landfall in the
Dhofar Governorate The Dhofar Governorate () is the largest of the 11 Governorates of Oman, governorates in the Oman, Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Governorate and the southern border wi ...
of western
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, causing $25 million in damage due to the worst flooding in 30 years. The deadliest was Cyclone Kesiny in the South-West Indian Ocean, which formed on 2 May. Kesiny made a disastrous landfall near
Toamasina Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French language, French Tamatave or in the past as Port aux prunes, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief ...
, in the north of
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, on 9 May, becoming the first-ever South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone to make landfall in the month of May. The storm caused 33 deaths and over 1,200 injuries in Madagascar.


June


July


August


September


October


November


December


Global effects


See also

* List of earthquakes in 2002 * Tornadoes of 2002 * Weather of 2002


Notes


References


External links

Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers
US National Hurricane Center
nbsp;– North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific
Central Pacific Hurricane Center
nbsp;– Central Pacific
Japan Meteorological Agency
nbsp;– NW Pacific
India Meteorological Department
nbsp;–
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
and the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

Météo-France – La Reunion
nbsp;– South Indian Ocean from 30°E to 90°E
Fiji Meteorological Service
nbsp;– South Pacific west of 160°E, north of 25° S Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers
Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia
nbsp;– South Indian Ocean from 90°E to 141°E, generally north of 10°S
Australian Bureau of Meteorology (TCWC's Perth, Darwin & Brisbane)
nbsp;– South Indian Ocean & South Pacific Ocean from 90°E to 160°E, generally south of 10°S

– Australian Region only
Papua New Guinea National Weather Service
nbsp;– South Pacific Ocean from 141°E to 160°E, generally north of 10°S
Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited
nbsp;– South Pacific west of 160°E, south of 25°S {{DEFAULTSORT:Tropical cyclones in 2002 Tropical cyclones in 2002, * Tropical cyclones by year 2002-related lists