tropical cyclone

noun

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Definition of tropical cyclone

: a cyclone originating in the tropics; specifically : hurricane

Recent Examples of tropical cyclone from the Web

Between 1949 and 2016, tropical cyclone translation speeds declined 10 percent worldwide, the study says.

— kendra pierre-louis, New York Times, "Hurricanes Are Lingering Longer. That Makes Them More Dangerous.," 6 June 2018
Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said no tropical cyclone formation was expected during the next five days in the north Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

— carlie kollath wells, NOLA.com, "No storms expected to form this week in Gulf, hurricane forecasters say," 4 June 2018
Technically, there’s some dispute over whether Alberto even counts, as it was initially classified as a subtropical storm rather than a full-on tropical cyclone.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Subtropical Storm Alberto Hits the Great Lakes," 1 June 2018
Any reports of 48 inches or more broke the record for tropical cyclone precipitation within the continental United States.

— david taylor, Houston Chronicle, "NWS warns of busy hurricane season at conference," 13 May 2018
The tropical cyclone names are as follows: Alberto Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie, William.

— sarah gray, Fortune, "The 2018 Hurricane Season Is Approaching. Here's What You Should Know," 24 May 2018
Irma’s 185 mph maximum sustained winds lasted for 37 hours, the longest a tropical cyclone maintained winds that strong.

— allie raffa, Fox News, "National Hurricane Center gives sneak peek of newly improved technology," 17 May 2018
On Monday, the National Hurricane Center initially gave the system a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone from May 14-19, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.

— joe marusak, charlotteobserver, "Flood warnings for Charlotte after NC mountains hit with record deluge | Charlotte Observer," 16 May 2018
Yet on June 1, conditions will be ripe for Helene, Isaac, and Michael—just a few of the names in line for tropical cyclones that form in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico in 2018.

— emily atkin, The New Republic, "America Is Not Ready for This (Again)," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tropical cyclone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.