Hurricanes are intense tropical cyclones that form over warm ocean waters and are characterized by a low-pressure center, organized deep convection, and strong cyclonic surface winds. They derive energy from latent heat released during condensation within deep convective clouds, requiring sea surface temperatures typically above ~26–27 °C, sufficient Coriolis force to initiate rotation, and weak vertical wind shear to maintain structural integrity. Hurricanes exhibit a warm-core structure, an eye and eyewall, and spiral rainbands, and are classified by maximum sustained wind speed. They are central topics in atmospheric science, climate research, and risk modeling due to their role in heat transport, extreme precipitation, storm surge, and high-wind hazards.
Tropical cyclones—also known as hurricanes, typhoons or storms, depending on their location and intensity—are among the world's most destructive and costly climate disasters.
Environment
Nov 8, 2025
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Typhoon Kalmaegi churned across Vietnam Friday, claiming five more lives after its devastating passage through the Philippines where the death toll rose to 188.
Environment
Nov 7, 2025
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Typhoon Kalmaegi has killed at least 114 people in the Philippines with even more missing and then hit Vietnam Friday. A second typhoon, Fong-Wong, is forecast to hit the Philippines around Sunday and strengthen to a major ...
Environment
Nov 7, 2025
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Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall Thursday in Vietnam's already storm-battered central belt, where thousands have been evacuated from areas in the path of one of the world's deadliest cyclones this year.
Environment
Nov 6, 2025
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Human-caused climate change boosted the destructive winds and rain unleashed by Hurricane Melissa and increased the temperatures and humidity that fueled the storm, according to an analysis released Thursday.
Environment
Nov 6, 2025
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A paper authored by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) graduate student Zeb Leffler has been published in the Geophysical Research Letters. The student's master's research addresses a long-standing challenge in meteorology: ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 3, 2025
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In the early hours of Sept. 10, 2017, the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay were mostly calm: herons and egrets worked the shallows, Miami's skyline stretching across the horizon. Yet within the quiet, unease lingered. Winds ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 3, 2025
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More than 150,000 people took shelter in coastal provinces of the Philippines on Monday as powerful Typhoon Kalmaegi neared landfall in a region hit by some of the country's deadliest storms.
Environment
Nov 3, 2025
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Hurricane Melissa was finally leaving the Caribbean Friday after battering communities there for days, leaving a trail of devastation that killed around 50 people.
Environment
Oct 31, 2025
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Hurricane Melissa grew into one of the most powerful Atlantic tropical cyclones in recorded history on Oct. 28, 2025, hitting western Jamaica with 185 mph sustained winds. The Category 5 hurricane blew roofs off buildings ...
Environment
Oct 29, 2025
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