Tropical Weather

W elcome to the NWS Phoenix Tropical Weather Page. Since we do not often suffer the direct consequences of tropical systems, our page is not as comprehensive as other resources on the Internet. For the most comprehensive coverage, we recommend visiting the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Note, however, that their site becomes VERY busy during active tropical weather and you may encounter difficulties connecting to them.

Hurricanes made the news in a big way in 2005, especially with the devastation caused by Katrina and Rita. Most of the strong hurricanes strike either the east coast or the gulf coast...rarely do they affect the west coast. Have you ever wondered if a hurricane has moved into...or affected...Arizona? The following link will provide a very interesting listing of "Hurricanes that have impacted Arizona". Check it out!

Active Bulletins and Discussions for the Atlantic and Pacific
At the top of the page you will find a section entitled 'Active Tropical Cyclones'. Here you will find the latest Forecasts/Advisories (TCM)s and Discussions (TCD)s on current active tropical depressions, tropical storms or hurricanes.

• National Hurricane Center

Tropical Weather Outlooks
Text products that contain discussions of expected tropical system development in the coming several days.

Tropical Weather Discussions
The Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion (TWD) is a narrative of significant surface or upper level weather features including fronts, troughs, cyclones and anticyclones, and special feature discussions for systems such as tropical cyclones or tropical disturbances. It includes satellite-based descriptions of significant weather. It is issued every 6 hours.

The Pacific TWD is similar but less detailed. It concentrates on surface weather systems and satellite-based descriptions of significant weather. It is also issued every 6 hours.

2006 Hurricane Outlooks
Outlooks as issued by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), including an Atlantic Hurricane Outlook as well as an Eastern Pacific Hurricane Outlook.

Full Basin Tropical Cyclone Maps
Current tropical cyclone forecast track and danger area for any active system is depicted as the shaded region in the following maps. Danger area is determined by adding 100-200-300 nautical miles to the 24-48-72 hour forecast position and maximum 34 know wind radii respectively. The values used in determining danger areas are based on the latest 10-year average error in forecast tracks issued by the National Hurricane Center. NHC does not warrant that avoiding these danger areas will eliminate the risk of harm from tropical cyclones.

2006 Hurricane Season Summaries
Data TABLEs containing information on each of the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricanes that have occurred in 2006.

EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC HURRICANE NAMES

Given names are used to identify typhoons and hurricanes in the Pacific ocean. A set of 6 alphabetical lists is used in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. These sets are used again when the six-year lists are completed. The 2005 list will be used again in 2011. In addition, after major land-falling storms having major economic impact, the names are retired. The following is the 6 year list of names. Click this link to see the complete list of Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names.