Summary
No tropical cyclones formed in the Northern Hemisphere during January 2021, which is not unusual. On average, the West Pacific has a named storm every other January, and they are even rarer in other basins.
The Southern Hemisphere was more active than normal in terms of named storms with 10 in January. For the entire globe, that is one short of the record 11 January storms that have happened in three previous years (1985, 1986, and 1997). However, all of these storms were relatively weak with only three of them achieving hurricane strength. The strongest of these was Tropical Cyclone Danilo in the South Indian Ocean, and it peaked with winds of 80 mph.
Tropical cyclone activity was near-normal in the South Indian Ocean during January with 3 named storms and 2 cyclones. However, the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), which measures the strength and duration of tropical cyclones, was only about half of the normal value for January. The only tropical cyclone to make landfall was Tropical Cyclone Eloise, which made landfall in both Madagascar and Mozambique. It brought heavy rainfall and flooding to the region just weeks after Tropical Storm Chalane followed a similar path.
The Australian region tied a record from 1986 with 6 named storms in January. However, none of these storms achieved tropical cyclone strength (≥74 mph) within the basin. Tropical Cyclone Lucas did reach that intensity, but it did so in February in the Southwest Pacific (east of 160°E). None of the storms produced major impacts. The January ACE was near-normal for January, but it remains less than half of normal for the 2020-2021 season so far.
The Southwest Pacific produced two named storms in late January, including Tropical Cyclone Ana. Ana brought heavy rain and flooding to Fiji, which has been impacted by an unusual number of tropical cyclones in 2020-2021. The number of named storms and tropical cyclones in the Southwest Pacific was near normal. Since both storms formed on January 30, the ACE for January was below-normal. However, the ACE for the 2020-2021 season remains above-normal.
North Atlantic
No North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2021.
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1851-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries) | 3rd (tied with 38 other Januaries) | 1 (6 Januarys) |
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries) | 2nd (tied with 39 other Januaries) | 1 (1938, 1955, 2016) |
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries) | 1st (tied with 40 other Januaries) | 0 |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.3 (3 in 10 Januaries) | 3rd (tied with 38 other Januaries) | 6.5 (1955) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1851-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 3rd (tied with 38 other seasons) | 1 (6 seasons) |
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 2nd (tied with 39 other seasons) | 1 (1938, 1955, 2016) |
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 40 other seasons) | 0 |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.3 (3 in 10 seasons) | 3rd (tied with 38 other seasons) | 6.5 (1955) |
East Pacific
No East Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2021.
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1949-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries) | 4th (tied with 37 other Januaries) | 1 (1989, 1992, 2016) |
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries) | 3rd (tied with 38 other Januaries) | 1 (1992, 2016) |
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries) | 1st (tied with 40 other Januaries) | 0 |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.5 (5 in 10 Januaries) | 4th (tied with 37 other Januaries) | 9.0 (2016) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1949-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 4th (tied with 37 other seasons) | 1 (1989, 1992, 2016) |
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 3rd (tied with 38 other seasons) | 1 (1992, 2016) |
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 40 other seasons) | 0 |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.5 (5 in 10 seasons) | 4th (tied with 37 other seasons) | 9.0 (2016) |
West Pacific
No West Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2021.
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1945-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.4 (4 in 10 Januaries) | 19th (tied with 22 other Januaries) | 2 (1957, 1965, 1978, 1985) |
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries) | 8th (tied with 33 other Januaries) | 1 (19 Januarys) |
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries) | 3rd (tied with 38 other Januaries) | 1 (8 Januarys) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 1.2 | 19th (tied with 22 other Januaries) | 44.7 (1958) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1945-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.4 (4 in 10 seasons) | 19th (tied with 22 other seasons) | 2 (1957, 1965, 1978, 1985) |
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 8th (tied with 33 other seasons) | 1 (19 seasons) |
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 3rd (tied with 38 other seasons) | 1 (8 seasons) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 1.2 | 19th (tied with 22 other seasons) | 44.7 (1958) |
North Indian
No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2021.
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.2 (2 in 10 Januaries) | 7th (tied with 34 other Januaries) | 1 (7 Januarys) |
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries) | 1st (tied with 40 other Januaries) | 0 |
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries) | 1st (tied with 40 other Januaries) | 0 |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.2 (2 in 10 Januaries) | 7th (tied with 34 other Januaries) | 1.5 (1986) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.2 (2 in 10 seasons) | 7th (tied with 34 other seasons) | 1 (7 seasons) |
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 40 other seasons) | 0 |
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 40 other seasons) | 0 |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.2 (2 in 10 seasons) | 7th (tied with 34 other seasons) | 1.5 (1986) |
South Indian
Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Danilo | 1 | January 1Jan 1-8 | 80 mph | 979 mb |
Joshua | TS | January 15Jan 15-18 | 50 mph | 998 mb† |
Eloise | TS | January 17Jan 17-21 | 60 mph | 994 mb |
†Value occurred in the South Indian |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 3 | 2.6 | 9th (tied with 15 other Januaries) | 6 (1997) |
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 1 | 1.5 | 21st (tied with 14 other Januaries) | 4 (2018) |
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.8 (8 in 10 Januaries) | 24th (tied with 17 other Januaries) | 3 (2001) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 10.2 | 20.8 | 29th | 57.1 (2015) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 6 | 5.2 | 9th (tied with 11 other seasons) | 12 (1997) |
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 2 | 2.6 | 25th (tied with 6 other seasons) | 6 (1997) |
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 1.5 | 31st (tied with 10 other seasons) | 4 (1997, 2014) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 18.9 | 39.4 | 30th | 108.3 (1997) |
Australia
Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Imogen | TS | January 3Jan 3-4 | 50 mph | 995 mb |
Joshua | TS | January 15Jan 15-18 | 50 mph† | 998 mb† |
Kimi | TS | January 17Jan 17-18 | 60 mph | 990 mb |
Not_Named | TS | January 21Jan 21-27 | 40 mph | 995 mb |
Not_Named | TS | January 21Jan 21-22 | 45 mph | 997 mb |
Lucas | 1 | January 31-February 3Jan 31-Feb 3 | 75 mph‡‖ | 980 mb‡‖ |
†Value occurred in the South Indian | ||||
‡Value occurred in February | ||||
‖Value occurred in the Southwest Pacific |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 5 | 2.2 | 2nd (tied with 6 other Januaries) | 6 (1986) |
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.9 (9 in 10 Januaries) | 23rd (tied with 18 other Januaries) | 3 (5 Januarys) |
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.2 (2 in 10 Januaries) | 7th (tied with 34 other Januaries) | 2 (1997) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 6.0 | 9.6 | 21st | 55.9 (1994) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 6 | 4.3 | 10th (tied with 4 other seasons) | 11 (1997) |
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 1.8 | 33rd (tied with 8 other seasons) | 6 (1996) |
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.6 (6 in 10 seasons) | 18th (tied with 23 other seasons) | 2 (1997, 2014) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 7.5 | 20.1 | 32nd | 62.0 (1997) |
Southwest Pacific
Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ana | 1 | January 30-February 2Jan 30-Feb 2 | 75 mph | 976 mb |
Bina | TS | January 30-February 1Jan 30-Feb 1 | 50 mph | 991 mb |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 2 | 1.9 | 11th (tied with 11 other Januaries) | 6 (1998) |
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 1 | 1.1 | 12th (tied with 16 other Januaries) | 4 (1985) |
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.4 (4 in 10 Januaries) | 14th (tied with 27 other Januaries) | 2 (1985, 1998, 2003, 2008) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 3.2 | 13.1 | 26th | 75.4 (1998) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 5 | 3.0 | 5th (tied with 7 other seasons) | 12 (1998) |
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 2 | 1.7 | 12th (tied with 6 other seasons) | 7 (1998) |
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 1 | 0.8 (8 in 10 seasons) | 8th (tied with 12 other seasons) | 3 (1998, 2003, 2008) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 30.8 | 22.5 | 11th | 103.1 (1998) |
Global
Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Danilo | 1 | January 1Jan 1-8 | 80 mph | 979 mb |
Imogen | TS | January 3Jan 3-4 | 50 mph | 995 mb |
Joshua | TS | January 15Jan 15-18 | 50 mph | 998 mb |
Eloise | TS | January 17Jan 17-21 | 60 mph | 994 mb |
Kimi | TS | January 17Jan 17-18 | 60 mph | 990 mb |
Not_Named | TS | January 21Jan 21-27 | 40 mph | 995 mb |
Not_Named | TS | January 21Jan 21-22 | 45 mph | 997 mb |
Ana | 1 | January 30-February 2Jan 30-Feb 2 | 75 mph | 976 mb |
Bina | TS | January 30-February 1Jan 30-Feb 1 | 50 mph | 991 mb |
Lucas | 1 | January 31-February 3Jan 31-Feb 3 | 75 mph‡ | 980 mb‡ |
‡Value occurred in February |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 9 | 6.8 | 4th (tied with 7 other Januaries) | 11 (1985, 1986, 1997) |
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 2 | 3.3 | 30th (tied with 6 other Januaries) | 7 (1997) |
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 1.4 | 32nd (tied with 9 other Januaries) | 4 (2001) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 19.4 | 45.6 | 37th | 122.1 (1998) |
Storm Type | Count | 1981-2010 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 9 | 6.8 | 4th (tied with 7 other seasons) | 11 (1985, 1986, 1997) |
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 2 | 3.3 | 30th (tied with 6 other seasons) | 7 (1997) |
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 1.4 | 32nd (tied with 9 other seasons) | 4 (2001) |
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 19.4 | 45.6 | 37th | 122.1 (1998) |
Data Description
The data in this report are derived from NCEI's IBTrACS dataset (Knapp et al. 2010; Schreck et al. 2014). IBTrACS tropical cyclone track and intensity data from agencies and sources around the globe. In this report, data from NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) are used for the North Atlantic and East Pacific. The other basins use data from the U.S. Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
Historical values use the "best track" data that have been analyzed by forecasters after the season using all available data. Operational procedures and observing systems have changed with time and between regions, which makes these data heterogeneous. Intensity data are generally the most reliable since the early 1970s in the Atlantic (Landsea and Franklin 2013) and since the mid-1980s in other regions (Chu et al. 2002). The number of short-lived storms (≤2 days) has also increased since around 2000 due to improvements in observations and analysis techniques (Landsea et al. 2010).
Values for the current year are provisional values from the operational forecast advisories. IBTrACS obtains these from NCEP's TC Vitals, the NCAR Tropical Cyclone Guidance Project, and NHC provisional data. These values are subject to change during the post-season best track analysis. They also only include 6-hourly storm fixes, which means they may miss special advisories at landfall, peak intensity, etc.
The tropical cyclone seasons in the Southern Hemisphere begin in July and end in June, while the Northern Hemisphere seasons are counted from January to December. Storms are counted in all basins, months, and years in which they occur, which means some storms may appear more than once. However, the global totals only include each storm one time.
References
- Chu, J.-H., C. R. Sampson, A. S. Levine, and E. Fukada, 2002: The joint typhoon warning center tropical cyclone best-tracks, 1945–2000. Naval Research Laboratory, Reference Number NRL/MR/7540-02-16, 22 pp., https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/best-tracks/tc-bt-report.html.
- Knapp, K. R., M. C. Kruk, D. H. Levinson, H. J. Diamond, and C. J. Neumann, 2010: The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 363–376, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1.
- Landsea, C. W., and J. L. Franklin, 2013: Atlantic Hurricane database uncertainty and presentation of a new database format. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3576–3592, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-12-00254.1.
- ——, G. A. Vecchi, L. Bengtsson, and T. R. Knutson, 2010: Impact of duration thresholds on Atlantic tropical cyclone counts. J. Climate, 23, 2508–2519, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI3034.1.
- Schreck, C. J., K. R. Knapp, and J. P. Kossin, 2014: The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-14-00021.1.