Back to Tropical Cyclones
Forecasting Page | Back
to Main FAQ Page
Subject: F1) What regions around the globe have
tropical cyclones and who is responsible for forecasting there?
There are seven tropical cyclone "basins" where storms occur on a
regular basis:
WMO
Contributed by Chris Landsea
- Atlantic basin (including the North Atlantic
Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea)
- Northeast Pacific basin (from Mexico to about the dateline)
- Northwest Pacific basin (from the dateline to Asia
including the South China Sea)
- North Indian basin (including the Bay of Bengal and the
Arabian Sea)
- Southwest Indian basin (from Africa to about 100E)
- Southeast Indian/Australian basin (100E to 142E)
- Australian/Southwest Pacific basin (142E to about 120W)
The OAR in Miami, Florida, USA has
responsibilities for monitoring and forecasting tropical
cyclones in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific basin east of
140W. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu has
responsibilities for the remainder of the Northeast Pacific
basin to the International Dateline. The Northwest Pacific
basin is shared in forecasting duties by China, Thailand, Korea,
Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. The North Indian basin
tropical cyclones are forecasted by India, Thailand, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Burma, and Sri Lanka. Reunion Island, Madagascar,
Mozambique, Mauritius, and Kenya provide forecasts for the
Southwest Indian basin. Australia and Indonesia forecast
tropical cyclone activity in the Southeast Indian/Australian
basin. Lastly, for the Australian/Southwest Pacific basin
Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and New Zealand
forecast tropical cyclones. Note also that the US Joint Typhoon
Warning Center (JTWC) issues warnings for tropical cyclones in the
Northwest Pacific, the North Indian, the Southwest Indian, the
Southeast Indian/Australian, and the Australian/Southwest
Pacific basins, though they are not specifically tasked to do so
by the WMO. The US
Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii does the same for the Pacific Ocean east of
180E. (Neumann 1993)
Note that on rare occasions, tropical cyclones (or storms
that appear to be similar in structure to tropical cyclones) can
develop in the Mediterranean Sea. These have been noted to
occur in September 1947, September 1969, January 1982, September
1983, and, most recently, during 13 to 17 January, 1995. Some
study of these storms has been reported on by
Mayengon (1984) and Ernest
and Matson (1983), though it has not been demonstrated
fully that these storms are the same as those found over
tropical waters. It may be that these Mediterranean tropical
cyclones are more similar in nature to polar lows.
The recent hurricane that formed in the South Atlantic was
handled by the Brazilian weather service. Since tropical
cyclones are so rare in this region, the WMO has not designated
a forecast center with responsibility for there.
The following are the addresses of tropical cyclone centers listed
above that are responsible for issuing advisories and/or
warnings on tropical cyclones (thanks to Jack Beven for these):
World Meteorological Organization
WWW:
http://www.wmo.ch/web/www/TCP/rsmcs.html
OAR
Mail: 11691 SW 17th St.
Miami, FL 33165-2149
USA
WWW: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.html
Central Pacific Hurricane Center
Mail: National Weather Service Forecast Office
Central Pacific Hurricane Center
2525 Correa Rd.
Suite 250
Honolulu, HI 96822
USA
WWW:
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Mail: NAVPACMETOCCEN/JTWC
425 Luapele Rd.
Pearl Harbor, HI 96860
USA
WWW: http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center Tokyo,
Japan - Typhoon Center
Mail: Japanese Meteorological Agency
1-3-4 Ote-machi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo
Japan
WWW:
http://www.goin.nasda.go.jp/GOIN/JMA/
Hong Kong Observatory
Mail: 134A Nathan Road
Kowloon
Hong Kong
WWW:
http://www.info.gov.hk/hko/index.htm
Bangkok Tropical Cyclone Warning Center - Thailand
Mail: Director
Meteorological Department
4353 Sukumvit Rd.
Bangkok 10260
Thailand
Fiji Tropical Cyclone Warning Center
Mail: Director
Fiji Meteorological Services
Private Mail Bag
Nadi Airport
Fiji
New Zealand Meteorological Service
Mail: Director
Met Service
PO Box 722
Wellington
New Zealand
WWW:
http://www.metservice.co.nz/index.asp
Port Moresby Tropical Cyclone Warning Center
Mail: Director
National Weather Service
PO Box 1240
Boroko, NCD
Paupa New Guinea
Brisbane Tropical Cyclone Warning Center
Mail: Regional Director
Bureau of Meteorology
GPO Box 413
Brisbane 4001
Australia
WWW:
http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld
Darwin Tropical Cyclone Warning Center
Mail: Regional Director
Bureau of Meteorology
Northern Territory Regional Office
PO Box 40050, CASUARINA, N.T. 0801
Australia
WWW:
http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/nt
Perth Tropical Cyclone Warning Center
Mail: Regional Director
Bureau of Meteorology
GPO Box 1370
West Perth,WA 6872
Australia
WWW:
http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/wa
Jakarta, Indonesia
Mail: Director
Analysis and Processing Centre
Jalan Arief Rakhman Hakim 3
Jakarta
Indonesia
Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centre - Reunion
Mail: Director of Meteorological Services
PO Box 4
97490 Sainte Clotilde
Reunion
WWW: http://www.meteo.fr
(Le temps/ Outre-mer/ La Reunion)
Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Center - Mauritius
Mail: Director of Meteorological Service
Vacoas
Mauritius
Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Center - Madagascar
Mail: Director of Meteorological Service
PO Box 1254
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
Nairobi, Kenya
Mail: Director of Meteorological Services
PO Box 30259
Nairobi
Kenya
Maputo, Mozambique
Mail: Director of Meteorology
PO Box 256
Maputo
Mozambique
The following cities are also mentioned as tropical
cyclone warning centers, though I don't have the
addresses for them.
Philippines: Manila
China: Beijing
Dalian
Shanghai
Guangzhou
Korea: Seoul
Vietnam: Hanoi
India: New Delhi
Calcutta
Bombay
Bangladesh: Dhaka
Burma: Rangoon
Sri Lanka: Colombo
Maldive Islands: Male
Back to Tropical Cyclones
Forecasting Page | Back
to Main FAQ Page
|