Hello r/TropicalWeather. Recently I was wondering where "major" tropical cyclones usually make landfall so I decided to do some research and tabulate the info. I was only able to do tropical cyclones from the year 2010 until 2019 due to time constraints though.
I decided to use the National Hurricane Center's definition of a "major hurricane" which is a Category 3+ tropical cyclone or wind speeds greater than or equal to 111 mph / 178 km/h. Even though most basins don't use the "1-minute sustained wind speed" the NHC uses, the estimated 1-minute sustained wind speed for other storms is easily accessible online so I used that.
I only counted tropical cyclones that were Category 3 or above during landfall. This means that a cyclone which was a Category 5 in the middle of the ocean but was a Category 1 when it made landfall is not counted.
I also counted multiple landfalls as long as the tropical cyclone is still equal to or above Category 3 strength, and the succeeding landfall is a different country or sovereign state from the previous one.
Note: The Category column in the tables below refer to the strength of the cyclone at the time of landfall. This is the reason why Hurricane Patricia (2015) is only listed as a Category 4 despite having the record for the tropical cyclone with the highest wind speed.
North Atlantic Basin
| Year | Name | Category | Landfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Karl | 3 | Mexico |
| 2011 | Irene | 3 | The Bahamas |
| 2012 | Sandy | 3 | Cuba |
| 2015 | Joaquin | 3 | The Bahamas |
| 2016 | Matthew | 4 | Haiti |
| 4 | Cuba | ||
| 4 | The Bahamas | ||
| Otto | 3 | Nicaragua | |
| 2017 | Harvey | 4 | USA |
| Irma | 5 | Barbuda | |
| 5 | Sint Maarten | ||
| 5 | British Virgin Islands | ||
| 4 | The Bahamas | ||
| 5 | Cuba | ||
| 4 | USA | ||
| Maria | 5 | Dominica | |
| 4 | Puerto Rico | ||
| 2018 | Michael | 5 | USA |
| 2019 | Dorian | 5 | The Bahamas |
Northeastern Pacific Basin
| Year | Name | Category | Landfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Odile | 3 | Mexico |
| 2015 | Patricia | 4 | Mexico |
| 2018 | Willa | 3 | Mexico |
North Indian Basin
| Year | Name | Category | Landfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Phet | 3 | Oman |
| Giri | 4 | Myanmar | |
| 2013 | Phailin | 4 | India |
| 2014 | Hudhud | 4 | India |
| 2015 | Megh | 3 | Yemen |
| 2018 | Mekunu | 3 | Oman |
| Titli | 3 | India | |
| 2019 | Fani | 4 | India |
Northwestern Pacific Basin
| Year | Name | Category | Landfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fanapi | 3 | Taiwan |
| Megi | 5 | Philippines | |
| 2011 | Nanmadol | 4 | Philippines |
| Nalgae | 4 | Philippines | |
| 2012 | Vicente | 4 | China |
| Tembin | 3 | Taiwan | |
| Bolaven | 3 | Ryukyu Islands | |
| Bopha | 5 | Philippines | |
| 2013 | Utor | 4 | Philippines |
| Usagi | 3 | China | |
| Nari | 3 | Philippines | |
| Haiyan | 5 |
AGW climate change is described as a creation of the industrial economy by way of its combustion of fossil fuels and release into the atmosphere of CO2 that is millions of years old and not part of the current account of nature’s carbon cycle.
This essential property in conjunction with the proposition that AGW climate change intensifies tropical cyclones implies that tropical cyclones of the pre-industrial era were not as strong and destructive as those we see now in the age of fossil fuel driven climate change of the industrial economy.
Historical data recorded by our ancestors show otherwise as seen in a list of ancient tropical cyclones.
The Treasure Coast Hurricanes of 1715 and 1733
Spanish Treasure Ship captain’s report:
“The sun disappeared and the wind increased in velocity coming from the east and east northeast. The seas became very giant in size, the wind continued blowing us toward shore, pushing us into shallow water. It soon happened that we were unable to use any sail at all…and we were at the mercy of the wind and water, always driven closer to shore. Having then lost all of our masts, all of the ships were wrecked on the shore, and with the exception of mine, broke to pieces”.
This violent storm off the coast of Florida in July 1715 ravaged 11 Spanish ships as they attempted to return to Spain. From the mid 16th to the mid 18th century, heavily-armed fleets such as this plied the waters between Spain and the Americas transporting massive amounts of New World treasure. Through this treasure fleet system, Spain created a mighty New World empire and became the most powerful nation in Europe.
The fleets’ return voyage—when the ships were laden with silver, gold, gemstones, tobacco, exotic spices, and indigo—was the most dangerous. Pirates and privateers from rival European countries threatened to seize the precious cargoes and jeopardize Spain’s dominance of the Americas. The greatest danger, however, came not from enemy countries, but from unexpected and deadly hurricanes.
In 1715 and again in 1733, Spain’s treasure fleets were devastated by hurricanes off the coast of Florida. Although the Spanish managed to recover some treasure, much more remained on the ocean floor. The sunken ships lay forgotten for more than 200 years until modern treasure hunters discovered several of them.
Today, the remains of two of the ships—the Urca de Lima from the 1715 fleet and the San Pedro from the 1733 fleet—are protected as Florida Underwater Archa
... keep reading on reddit ➡With the development of Tropical Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal adding to an already unmanageable situation (800k+ displaced persons, virtually no healthcare capacity, no means to provide shelter for the exposed), this week will be an unfortunately practical example of a complex crisis.
The transition of this situation from disaster preparedness to response, along with the culmination of this disaster's incubation period, will occur this week.
So back to the primary questions that drive our field:
Why do bad things happen?
What do we do about them?
For everyone who comes to this sub looking for an intro into the field or an insider's perspective, this week should showcase the worst-case problem-set on an international scale.
