Tropical cyclones in 2023: Difference between revisions

Tropical cyclones in 2023
Year summary map
First system	03F
Formed	January 5, 2023
Name	Mawar and Bolaven
Lowest pressure	900 mbar (hPa); 26.58 inHg
Name	Freddy (Longest-lasting tropical system on record)
Duration	37 days
Total systems	114 (+ 1 unofficial)
Named systems	77 (+ 1 unofficial)
Total fatalities	6,905 (19)[a]
Total damage	$66.49 billion (2023 USD)
Other years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

In 2023, tropical cyclones formed in seven major bodies of water, commonly known as tropical cyclone basins. Tropical cyclones will be named by various weather agencies when they attain maximum sustained winds of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). So far, 114 systems formed, with 77 of them being named. The most intense storms of the year so far are Typhoons Mawar and Bolaven, both with a minimum pressure of 900 hPa (26.58 inHg). The current deadliest and costliest tropical cyclone of the year is Cyclone Daniel, which killed at least 10,028 people in Libya, Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria, and caused at least US$21.14 billion worth of damage (mostly in Libya and Greece). Among this year’s systems, thirty became major tropical cyclones, of which nine intensified into Category 5 tropical cyclones on the Saffir–Simpson scale (SSHWS). This year, for the first time on record, at least one such Category 5 system formed in each tropical cyclone basin:^[1] Mawar and Bolaven in the western Pacific Ocean, Hurricanes Jova and Otis in the eastern Pacific, Hurricane Lee in the Atlantic, Cyclone Mocha in the North Indian Ocean, Cyclone Freddy in the southwest Indian Ocean, Cyclone Ilsa in the Australian region, and Cyclone Kevin in the South Pacific.

The most active basin in the year was the North Atlantic ocean, which documented 20 named systems. The Eastern Pacific ocean had an above-average and destructive season, with 17 named storms formed; 10 of those became hurricanes, of which 8 strengthened into major hurricanes – double the seasonal average. In the Western Pacific Ocean showed a total of 15 named storms, making it the second least active season in the basin, tying with 1998. The North Indian Ocean is also above-average, documented six named storms and produced the second-most accumulated cyclone energy in this basin on record, only behind 2019. Activity across the southern hemisphere’s three basins – South-West Indian, Australian, and South Pacific – is fairly significant, with the regions recording 17 named storms altogether, with the most intense Southern Hemisphere cyclone of the year, Cyclone Kevin from the South Pacific basin peaking with a central pressure of 913 hPa (26.96 inHg). The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2023 (seven basins combined), as calculated by Colorado State University (CSU) was 838.2 units overall (638.7 units in the Northern Hemisphere and 199.5 units in the Southern Hemisphere).

Tropical cyclones are primarily monitored by ten warning centers across the world, which are designated as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These ten centers are the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Météo-France (MFR), Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Papua New Guinea’s National Weather Service (PNGNWS), the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), and New Zealand’s MetService. Unofficial, but still notable, warning centres include the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA; albeit official within the Philippines), the United States’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), and the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center.

Global atmospheric and hydrological conditions[edit]

There is an amplified Madden-Julian Oscillation
(MJO) event over the Eastern Indian Ocean present and is contributing to instability and an increase in conductive environment for increased convective activity in the area.^{[citation needed]}
On February 9, the NOAA made a new ENSO forecast stating that the La Niña is still ongoing but will transition into an ENSO-Neutral soon. It says that there is around a 5% chance that the La Niña persists throughout March and around a 95% chance of an ENSO-Neutral in March. NOAA announced an El Nino later in the year.^[2]

Summary[edit]

North Atlantic Ocean[edit]

It was the fourth-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record with 20 named storms,^{[nb 1]} tied with 1933.