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Tropical cyclones are more common at different times of the year in different places. On this page, you'll learn about the different storm seasons in different ocean basins.
Hurricanes happen in both the Atlantic Basin and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, but the season is a little different in each place.
In the Atlantic Basin, hurricane season officially begins on June 1st and lasts until the end of November each year. This chart shows the average number of tropical storms (gold) and hurricanes (red) in the Atlantic Basin during a period of 100 years.
This chart shows that the most active time for hurricanes is August-October. Question: Which month is the most active for hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic Basin? (Choose an answer.)
The chart also shows that tropical storms sometimes happen when it's not hurricane season, in May and December.
The next chart shows the number of tropical storms (gold) and hurricanes (red) in the Eastern Pacific during a period of 100 years.
Question: Which month is the most active for hurricanes and tropical storms in the Eastern Pacific? (Choose an answer.)
How many tropical storms and hurricanes are there each year? Well, each year is different, but the most hurricanes that have ever happened in one year in the Atlantic Basin is 15. The least was 2.
The Eastern Pacific Ocean usually has more tropical cyclones than the Atlantic Basin, but fewer of them strike land because there is less land to run into. They are usually steered away from Mexico and Central America by the winds that blow from east to west in the tropics.
This table shows the most, least, and average number of tropical cyclones that have happened in a year in the Atlantic Basin and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
| Storm Records | Atlantic Basin Tropical Storms |
Atlantic Basin Hurricanes |
Eastern Pacific Tropical Storms |
Eastern Pacific Hurricanes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Most in one year
|
28
|
15
|
24
|
16
|
|
Least in one year
|
4
|
2
|
8
|
4
|
|
Average
|
11.3
|
6.2
|
15.3
|
8.7
|
Question: On average, how many hurricanes are there each year in the Atlantic Basin and Eastern Pacific Ocean combined? (Choose an answer.)
In the Northwest Pacific Ocean, hurricane-strength tropical cyclones are called typhoons. In the Indian and South Pacific Oceans, they are called tropical cyclones. This chart shows how many typhoons and tropical storms there are in the Northwest Pacific, during a period of 100 years.
Question: Which month has the fewest typhoons? (Choose an answer.)
This next chart shows how many strong tropical cyclones occur in the Indian and Southwest Pacific Oceans during a period of 100 years.
Question: When are tropical cyclones most common in the Southern Hemisphere? (Choose an answer.)
The Northwest Pacific Ocean has more tropical cyclones than anywhere else on earth, with an average of over 25 tropical storms and 16 typhoons per year.
The Philippines are hit by tropical cyclones more than any other country in the world.
The North Indian Ocean has the fewest number of tropical cyclones each year (5 or 6 tropical storms and 2 or 3 named cyclones), but they can be terribly devastating when they hit places like Bangladesh, killing many thousands of people. One cyclone that hit Bangladesh in 1970 is thought to have killed at least 300,000 people!!
