List of tropical cyclones near the Equator

Tropical Storm Vamei near the equator in December 2001

Typically, tropical cyclones form at least 5.0 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator, or at least 300 nautical miles (556 km, 345 mi) from the equator. Within 5 degrees of the equator, tropical cyclogenesis is uncommon despite the presence of sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures and generally low wind shear, as a result of the lack of a strong Coriolis force, which causes cyclones to spin. On rare occasions, tropical cyclones can develop within 5° of the equator, most commonly in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Background

See also: Tropical cyclogenesis

For centuries, sailors haven't worried about tropical storms near the equator. It's a rule that cyclones are not supposed to develop there.

—Dr. Chih-Pei Chang, professor at the United States Naval Research Laboratory[1]

Various factors converge to produce a tropical cyclone, including sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures, low wind shear, ample moisture, and enough atmospheric instability to produce thunderstorms. In addition, for a tropical disturbance to develop into a tropical cyclone, it typically needs to be far enough away from the equator, where there is sufficient vorticity for the weather system to spin. This is because the vorticity generated by the Earth's rotation through the Coriolis force (called planetary vorticity) is zero at the equator and increases toward the poles.[2][3][4] This lack of planetary vorticity can be overcome if there is sufficient relative vorticity produced via other means. One such phenomenon that can contribute to the development of low-latitude tropical cyclones is the equatorial westerly wind burst, which generates sufficient shear vorticity on both sides of the equator to support tropical cyclogenesis.[5] Westerly wind bursts are most common in the equatorial Western Pacific Ocean.[6]

List

Note: Only systems that were of tropical depression strength or higher within 5.0 degrees of the equator are included.
Satellite image of Cyclone Agni in October 2004 in its formative stage near the equator
Storm Year Peak classification Basin Minimum
Latitude 		Ref(s)
Tropical Storm Vamei 2001 Tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 1.4°N [7]
Cyclone Agni 2004 Severe cyclonic storm North Indian 1.5°N [8]
Typhoon Sarah 1956 Typhoon Northwestern Pacific 1.7°N [9]
Typhoon Alice 1979 Very strong typhoon Northwestern Pacific 2.0°N [10]
Tropical Storm Peipah 2014 Tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 2.0°N [11]
Tropical Depression 2023 Tropical depression Northwestern Pacific 2.0°N [12]
Tropical Depression Nine-C 2015 Tropical depression Northeastern Pacific 2.2°N [13]
Tropical Storm Patsy 1977 Severe tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 2.5°N [14]
Tropical Storm Abaimba 2003 Moderate tropical storm South-West Indian Ocean 2.5°S [15]
Hurricane Pali 2016 Category 2 hurricane Northeastern Pacific 2.6°N [16]
Cyclone Fani 2019 Extremely severe cyclonic storm North Indian 2.7°N [17]
Cyclone Fabien 2023 Intense tropical cyclone South-West Indian Ocean 2.7°S [18]
Typhoon Harriet 1959 Typhoon Northwestern Pacific 2.9°N [19]
Cyclone Ialy 2024 Tropical cyclone South-West Indian Ocean 3.0°S [20]
Cyclone Senyar 2025 Cyclonic storm North Indian and Northwestern Pacific 3.0°N [21]
Tropical Storm Sonamu 2013 Severe tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 3.2°N [22]
Typhoon Bopha 2012 Very strong typhoon Northwestern Pacific 3.4°N [23]
Unnamed Cyclonic Storm 2002 Severe cyclonic storm North Indian 4.0°N [24]
Tropical Storm Shanshan 2013 Tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 4.2°N [25]
Typhoon Kate 1970 Typhoon Northwestern Pacific 4.3°N [26]
Severe Tropical Storm Axel 1992 Severe tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 4.4°N [27]
Hurricane Ekeka 1992 Category 3 hurricane Northeastern and Northwestern Pacific 4.5°N [28]
Cyclone Bernie 1982 Category 4 severe tropical cyclone Australian region 4.8°S [29]
Deep Depression BOB 01 2026 Deep Depression North Indian 4.8°N [30]
Flores cyclone 1973 Category 3 severe tropical cyclone Australian region 5.0°S [31]
Cyclonic Storm Hibaru 2005 Cyclonic storm North Indian 5.0°N [32]
Deep Depression ARB 01 2006 Deep Depression North Indian 5.0°N [33]
Tropical Storm Fengshen 2025 Severe tropical storm Northwestern Pacific 5.0°N [34]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Breaking the Typhoon Rules". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Tropical Cyclone Introduction". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. September 8, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  3. ^ "Tropical Cyclone Introduction". National Weather Service. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. ^ Chun-yuen, Chau. "Why do Tropical Cyclones always Form more than 5 degrees of Latitude away from the Equator?". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Linkage Between Westerly Wind Bursts and Tropical Cyclones". American Geophysical Union. October 10, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Generation of westerly wind bursts by forcing outside the tropics". Nature.com. January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "2001 VAMEI (2001361N01106)". The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  8. ^ Report on Cyclonic Disturbances Over North Indian Ocean During 2004 (PDF) (Report). India Meteorological Department. January 2005. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  9. ^ "1956 01W:SARAH (1956081N02154)". The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  10. ^ "1979 ALICE (1978361N02180)". The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  11. ^ "2014 PEIPAH (2014093N02148)". The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  12. ^ "WWJP27 RJTD 040600". Japan Meteorological Agency. 4 March 2023. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  13. ^ "TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT - TROPICAL DEPRESSION NINE-C" (PDF). Central Pacific Hurricane Center. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  14. ^ "1977 PATSY (1977082N03165)". The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  15. ^ "2002 Moderate Tropical Storm Abaimba (2002247S03067)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  16. ^ "TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT - HURRICANE PALI" (PDF). Central Pacific Hurricane Center. 13 December 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm "FANI" over eastcentral equatorial Indian Ocean and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal (26 April – 04 May, 2019): Summary" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  18. ^ "Best Track Data on Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Fabien (10)". Météo-France. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  19. ^ "1959 HARRIET (1959356N05152)". The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Best Track Data of Tropical Cyclone Ialy (11)". Meteo-France La Réunion. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  21. ^ "WWJP27 RJTD 271200". Japan Meteorological Agency. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 27 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  22. ^ Annual Report on the Activities of the RSMC Tokyo - Typhoon Center 2013 (PDF) (Report). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Annual Report on the Activities of the RSMC Tokyo - Typhoon Center 2012 (PDF) (Report). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  24. ^ WMO / ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones Annual Review 2002 (PDF) (Report). World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  25. ^ Annual Report on the Activities of the RSMC Tokyo - Typhoon Center 2013 (PDF) (Report). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  26. ^ "1970 Super Typhoon Kate (1970286N06143)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  27. ^ "1992 Typhoon Axel (1992003N03176)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  28. ^ Tropical Cyclones 1992 (PDF) (Report). Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  29. ^ "1982 Severe Tropical Cyclone Bernie (1982091S03159)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  30. ^ "OBSERVED AND FORECAST TRACK OF DEPRESSION OVER SOUTHEAST BAY OF BENGAL AND ADJOINING EAST EQUATORIAL INDIAN OCEAN BASED ON 0300 UTC (0830 Hrs. IST) OF 7TH JANUARY 2025". Indian Meteorological Department. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  31. ^ "1973 Severe Tropical Cyclone FLORESCYCLO (1973116S05131)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  32. ^ Report on Cyclonic Disturbances Over North Indian Ocean During 2005 (PDF) (Report). India Meteorological Department. 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  33. ^ Report on Cyclonic Disturbances Over North Indian Ocean During 2006 (PDF) (Report). India Meteorological Department. 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  34. ^ Warning and Summary 121800 (Report). Japan Meteorological Agency. October 12, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_near-Equatorial_tropical_cyclones