List Of Most Intense Tropical Cyclones
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This is a list of the most intense tropical cyclones as measured by minimum
atmospheric 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. ...
at sea level. Although
maximum sustained winds The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a certain distance from the center, known as the radius of ma ...
are often used to measure intensity as they commonly cause notable impacts over large areas, and most popular
tropical cyclone scales Tropical cyclones are ranked on one of five tropical cyclone intensity scales, according to their maximum sustained winds and which tropical cyclone basins they are located in. Only a few classifications are used officially by the meteorologi ...
are organized around sustained wind speeds, variations in the averaging period of winds in different basins make inter-comparison difficult. In addition, other impacts like rainfall, storm surge, area of wind damage, and tornadoes can vary significantly in storms with similar wind speeds. The minimum central pressure at sea level is often used to compare tropical cyclones because the measurements are easier and use consistent methodology worldwide, in contrast to difficult-to-estimate maximum sustained winds whose measurement methods vary widely. Tropical cyclones can attain some of the lowest pressures over large areas on Earth. However, although there is a strong connection between lowered pressures and higher wind speeds, storms with the lowest pressures may not have the highest wind speeds, as each storm's relationship between wind and pressure is slightly different. In the most recent and reliable records, most tropical cyclones which attained a pressure of 900 
hPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...
(
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea ...
) (26.56 
inHg Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in h ...
) or less have occurred in the Western North Pacific Ocean. The strongest
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 ...
recorded worldwide, as measured by minimum central
pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
, was
Typhoon Tip Typhoon Tip, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Warling, was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded. The forty-third tropical depression, nineteenth tropical storm, twelfth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 1 ...
, which reached a pressure of on October 12, 1979. Furthermore, on October 23, 2015,
Hurricane Patricia Hurricane Patricia was the most powerful tropical cyclone on record worldwide in terms of maximum sustained winds and the second-most intense on record worldwide in terms of pressure, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; ), beh ...
attained the strongest sustained winds on record at . Data for the most intense tropical cyclones globally are provided below, then subdivided by basin. Data listed are provided by the official
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre 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 ...
, unless otherwise noted.


North Atlantic Ocean

The most intense storm in the North Atlantic by lowest pressure was
Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensifi ...
. The strongest storm by 1-minute sustained winds was
Hurricane Allen Hurricane Allen was the strongest Atlantic hurricane by wind speed on record. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone, Allen affected the Caribbean, eastern and northern Mexico, and South Texas in August 1980. The second tropical depression, fi ...
. Storms which reached a minimum central pressure of or less are listed. Storm information has been compiled back to 1851, though measurements were rarer until
aircraft reconnaissance A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as we ...
started in the 1940s, and inexact estimates were still predominant until
dropsonde A dropsonde is an expendable weather reconnaissance device created by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), designed to be dropped from an aircraft at altitude over water to measure (and therefore track) storm conditions as the dev ...
s were implemented in the 1970s.


Eastern Pacific Ocean

The most intense storm in the Eastern Pacific Ocean by both sustained winds and central pressure was
Hurricane Patricia Hurricane Patricia was the most powerful tropical cyclone on record worldwide in terms of maximum sustained winds and the second-most intense on record worldwide in terms of pressure, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; ), beh ...
. Its sustained winds of are also the highest on record globally. Storms with a minimum central pressure of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1949, and most storms since are only estimated because landfalls (and related reconnaissance) are less common in this basin.


Western Pacific Ocean

The most intense storm by lowest pressure and peak 10-minute sustained winds was
Typhoon Tip Typhoon Tip, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Warling, was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded. The forty-third tropical depression, nineteenth tropical storm, twelfth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 1 ...
, which was also the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in terms of minimum central pressure. Storms with a minimum pressure of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1950.


North Indian Ocean

The most intense tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean by both sustained winds and central pressure was the
1999 Odisha cyclone The 1999 Odisha cyclone ( IMD designation BOB 06, JTWC designation 05B) was the most intense recorded tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean and among the most destructive in the region. The 1999 Odisha cyclone organized into a tropi ...
, with 3-minute sustained winds of and a minimum pressure of . Storms with an intensity of or less are listed.


South-West Indian Ocean

The most intense tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean was
Cyclone Gafilo Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Gafilo was both the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean and the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2004. Being unusually large and intense, Gafilo was the deadliest an ...
. By 10-minute sustained wind speed, the strongest tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean was
Cyclone Fantala Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Fantala was the List of the most intense tropical cyclones, most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone, South-West Indian Ocean in terms of sustained winds. Part of the 201 ...
. Storms with an intensity of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1985.


Australian region

The most intense tropical cyclone(s) in the Australian Region were cyclones Gwenda and
Inigo Inigo is a masculine given name deriving from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (man)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity ...
. By 10-minute sustained wind speed, the strongest were Cyclone Orson,
Cyclone Monica Severe Tropical Cyclone Monica was the most intense tropical cyclone, in terms of maximum sustained winds, on record to impact Australia. The 17th and final storm of the 2005–06 Australian region cyclone season, Monica originated from an area ...
and Cyclone Marcus. Storms with an intensity of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1985.


South Pacific Ocean

A total of 16 cyclones are listed down below reaching/surpassing an intensity of 920 hPa (27.17 inHg), with most of them occurring during
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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. Storms with an intensity of or less are listed.


South Atlantic Ocean

Until recently, it was not known that tropical cyclones could exist in the southern Atlantic. However,
Hurricane Catarina Hurricane Catarina, or Cyclone Catarina () was an extraordinarily rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone that became the only hurricane-strength storm on record in the South Atlantic Ocean. Catarina made landfall in Southern Brazil at peak intens ...
in 2004, to date the only hurricane in the south Atlantic, brought additional review. A subsequent study found that there was an average of 1–2 subtropical or tropical cyclones per year in the Southern Atlantic in recent decades. No official database of South Atlantic cyclones exists, but a partial list of notable tropical and subtropical systems is listed.


See also

*
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 ...
*
Australian region tropical cyclone An Australian region tropical cyclone is a non- frontal, low-pressure system that has developed within an environment of warm sea surface temperatures and little vertical wind shear aloft in either the Southern Indian Ocean or the South Pacifi ...
* List of the wettest tropical cyclones *
North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone In the Indian Ocean north of the equator, tropical cyclones can form throughout the year on either side of the Indian subcontinent, although most frequently between April and June, and between October and December. The North Indian Ocean is the ...
* Notable non-tropical pressures over the North Atlantic *
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 ...
* Pacific typhoon season *
South Atlantic tropical cyclone South Atlantic tropical cyclones are unusual weather events that occur in the Southern Hemisphere. Strong wind shear, which disrupts the formation of Tropical cyclone, cyclones, as well as a lack of weather disturbances favorable for development ...
*
South Pacific tropical cyclone A South Pacific tropical cyclone is a non- frontal, low pressure system that has developed, within an environment of warm sea surface temperatures and little vertical wind shear aloft in the South Pacific Ocean. Within the Southern Hemisphere th ...
*
South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone In the south-west Indian Ocean, tropical cyclones form south of the equator and west of 90° E to the coast of Africa. Warnings and nomenclature In 1946, Réunion's first airstrip opened, then called Gillot, and now called Roland Garros Ai ...


Notes


References


External links

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 ...
s
US National Hurricane Center
nbsp;– North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific
Central Pacific Hurricane Center
 – Central Pacific
Japan Meteorological Agency
nbsp;– North West Pacific
India Meteorological Department
nbsp;– North Indian Ocean
Météo-France – La Reunion
nbsp;– South-West 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
Indonesian Meteorological Department
nbsp;– South Indian Ocean from 90°E to 125°E, north of 10°S
Australian Bureau of Meteorology (TCWC's Perth, Darwin & Brisbane)
 – South Indian Ocean & South Pacific Ocean from 90°E to 160°E, south of 10°S

nbsp;– South Pacific west of 160°E, south of 25°S {{DEFAULTSORT:Most Intense Tropical Cyclones Intense Tropical cyclones, intense