Number 6, November 5, 2006
The Hurricane Herald
This is the monthly newsletter of WikiProject Tropical Cyclones. The Hurricane Herald aims to give a summary, both of the activities of the WikiProject and global tropical cyclone activity. If you wish to change how you receive this newsletter, or no longer wish to receive it, please add your username to the appropriate section on the mailing list. The WikiProject has its own IRC channel.
Storm of the month
Typhoon Xangsane, known as Typhoon Milenyo in the Philippines was a destructive typhoon that affected the Philippines and Indochina. The storm caused severe flooding and landslides in the regions it affected and was responsible for at least 279 deaths and $747 million (USD) in damage, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam. Xangsane formed to the east of the Philippines and rapidly intensified, striking Samar Island as a Category 4 typhoon. It weakened over the Philippines, but again reached Category 4 strength in the South China Sea. After its landfall in Vietnam, the typhoon dissipated, with its remnant crossing Indochina and entering the Bay of Bengal.
Other tropical cyclone activity
- Hurricane Isaac, which formed in September, hit Newfoundland with minimal effects on October 2. It was the only Atlantic storm in October.
- One hurricane, Hurricane Paul, formed in the eastern Pacific and hit Mexico. There were also two tropical storms, Norman and Olivia, and two tropical depressions in the basin.
- In addition to Typhoon Xangsane, two further typhoons and two tropical storms developed in the west Pacific. Typhoon Soulik and Tropical Storms Bebinca and Rumbia both stayed clear of land, whilst Typhoon Cimaron hit the Philippines killing at least 19 people there, before it dissipated in the South China Sea.
- The North Indian Ocean saw one storm, Cyclonic Storm Ogni form in the Bay of Bengal.
- The 2006-2007 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season got underway, with Tropical Cyclone Xavier forming to the west of Fiji. There were two further tropical depressions in the South Pacific and a tropical disturbance in the South Indian Ocean.
New articles and improvements wanted
- Articles are wanted for Hurricane Flossy (1956), Tropical Storm Debbie (1965) and Tropical Storm Beryl (1994).
- The articles on the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres, such as those on the NHC, JMA and CPHC, all need work.
- Likewise the articles on meteorologists such as Lixion Avila are poor.
Member of the month
The October Member of the Month is Coredesat. Coredesat joined the WikiProject in March and has contributed to many diverse areas within the project. He has written two featured articles on Atlantic storms and a number of good articles on current typhoons. However, the article he is most proud of is a disambiguation page, a sorely neglected portion of the project.
Main Page content
- Global tropical cyclone tracks appeared on the Main Page as Today's Featured Picture on October 3.
- Entries from Hurricane Alberto (2000), Typhoon Xangsane (2006), Tropical Storm Bertha (2002) and Hurricane Bob (1985) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during October.
New and improved articles
- New storm articles include: Hurricane Alberto (2000), Tropical Depression Nine (2003), Hurricane Paul (2006) and Tropical Storm Peter (2003).
- A non-storm article was made on Pacific hurricane.
- New featured content: List of Delaware hurricanes, 2004 Atlantic hurricane season and Hurricane Gustav (2002).
- Significantly improved articles include: Hurricane Erika (2003) (A), Hurricane Linda (1997) (GA), Hurricane Ophelia (2005) (GA), Subtropical Storm Nicole (2004) (GA) and Hurricane Danny (2003).
Storm article statistics
| Grade | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 FA
|
16 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
 A
|
6 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
 GA
|
24 | 28 | 33 | 48 |
| B | 77 | 79 | 84 | 83 |
| Start | 191 | 200 | 201 | 210 |
| Stub | 8 | 8 | 13 | 11 |
| Total | 322 | 337 | 352 | 375 |
| percentage ≥;Less than B |
61.8 | 61.7 | 60.8 | 58.9 |
Tropical cyclone scales
The various agencies which report on tropical cyclones use a variety of different scales to measure the storms strength. The most familiar of these is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and this is the de facto standard in the project and should be used everywhere. However, as it is only official in the Atlantic and East Pacific, other local scales should be used when discussing storms in other regions and given primacy over the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The Saffir-Simpson scale is based on 1-minute averages, but other scales are generally based upon 10-minute averages, which are approximately 15% lower.
This table provides a useful-at-a-glance comparison of the various scales currently in use. Further complications arise due to the fact different agencies obtain different estimates for the same storm at the same time, so be careful to use the most appropriate source agency.