Number 13, February 2, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Gene formed on January 26 over the open south Pacific Ocean. It drifted southward, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Gene on January 28 as it moved across the Fijian archipelago. There, it brought heavy rainfall, which caused the worst flooding in several years. Half of the country was left without power, and the cyclone killed seven people in Fiji. The storm turned southwestward, developing a cloud-filled eye and quickly strengthening by the end of the month.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• One tropical cyclone formed in the Western North Pacific Ocean west of The Philippines, which was analyzed by Japan Meteorological Agency as a depression; it tracked southwestward and did not significantly affect any land areas.
• In addition to Cyclone Gene, Tropical Storm Elisa and Cyclone Fuma occurred in the South Pacific ocean during the month, along with three tropical depressions.
• The only tropical cyclone in Australian region during the month was Tropical Cyclone Helen, which struck Australia.
• Four tropical cyclones, three of which named, existed in the Southwest Indian Ocean during the month. The most notable was Cyclone Fame, which caused twelve deaths after striking Madagascar.

Member of the month

The January member of the month is Ajm81. A tropical cyclone editor since he first joined in October 2005, Ajm81 plays a vital role in the project. Unlike other editors, who mainly edit articles, Ajm81 maintains and updates the track maps across the project. We thank Ajm81 for his timely contributions, and may he have some well-deserved downtime after the last tropical cyclone report is released.

New and improved articles

• There were six new pieces of Featured content : 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, List of storms in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, List of North Carolina hurricanes (pre-1900), 1983 Atlantic hurricane season, 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Lane (2006)
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Cleo, Hurricane Gracie, 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane
• New storm articles include: Tropical Storm Danielle (1980), Hurricane Elida (2002), Cyclone Elita, Cyclone Indlala
• New non-storm articles include: 2006 central Pacific cyclone, List of United States hurricanes

Main Page content

• Entries from 8 articles: Hurricane Ava (1973), Cyclone Inigo, Hurricane Greg (1999), Hurricane Henri (1979), Hurricane Kenneth (2005), Hurricane Elida (2002), Cyclone Elita, and Hurricane Naomi (1968) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during January.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan
FA	30	31	33	33
A	9	8	9	9
GA	106	109	112	114
B	78	82	86	99
Start	212	211	208	214
Stub	5	6	6	3
Total	440	447	454	472
ω	3.02	3.01	2.98	2.98
percentage Less than B	49.3	48.5	47.1	46.0

Wikiwork and 1000 articles In January 2008, the WikiProject began using a system called Wikiwork, or ω. It weighs the overall quality of the project's articles, and a lower number means a greater total quality. The weighed ω, as used above, is a relative number that can be used to compare groups of this article. As of this publication, the relative ω of the project is 3.404, corresponding to between Start and B class. However, when limiting it solely to storm articles, the number drops to 2.98, which is slightly better than B class. During the month, a new statistics page was created.

Additionally, during the month, Mitchazenia pointed out that we received our 1,000th article with the creation of Cyclone Elita.

Number 14, March 1, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Ivan formed on February 7 and subsequently executed a loop to the west-southwest. Encountering favorable conditions, it strengthened to attain peak winds on February 17 before striking northeastern Madagascar. It degenerated into a remnant low pressure area as it crossed the island, and briefly re-organized into a weak tropical depression before dissipating on February 22. Ivan caused heavy damage in Madagascar, leaving 190,000 people homeless and causing over 83 deaths.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• In the South Pacific ocean, Cyclone Gene persisted from the previous month; a tropical depression also occurred in the month.
• Tropical Cyclone Nicholas was the only named storm during the month in the Australian region, which struck Western Australia. Two tropical lows occurred during the month, the latter of which later formed into Tropical Cyclone Ophelia.
• Four storms occurred in the Southwest Indian Ocean, including two from the previous month and the aforementioned Cyclone Ivan. Cyclone Hondo became the strongest cyclone worldwide in the month, and after becoming extratropical it regenerated over ten days later about 1750 miles (2800 km) to its west-northwest.

Member of the month

The February member of the month is RattleMan, for his lasting dedication and continual support of the project. During February, the user worked on improving the timeline articles for the previous season. RattleMan often updates the sections on storms in season articles, and helps to maintain the southern hemisphere articles.

New and improved articles

• There were 6 new pieces of Featured content : Hurricane Felix (featured picture), Hurricane Isis (1998), Tropical Storm Alberto (2006), Hurricane John (2006), Tropical cyclone, and Hurricane Isabel (featured picture)
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Gracie, Hurricane Ava (1973), Hurricane Flossy (1956)
• New storm articles include: 1935 Yankee hurricane, Hurricane Ginny, Cyclone Agni, 1917 Pinar del Río hurricane
• New non-storm articles include: List of North Carolina hurricanes (1950-1979)

Main Page content

• Today's Featured Article: Hurricane Isis (1998) appeared on the Main Page in the Today's Featured Article on February 15
• Entries from 3 articles: Hurricane Naomi (1968), Hurricane Darby (1992), and Hurricane Hernan (2002) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during February.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb
FA	31	33	33	36
A	8	9	9	8
GA	109	112	114	123
B	82	86	99	96
Start	211	208	214	216
Stub	6	6	3	6
Total	447	454	472	485
ω	3.01	2.98	2.98	2.96
percentage Less than B	48.5	47.1	46.0	45.8
percentage GA or better	33.1	33.9	33.1	34.3

Improvements During the month, a total of 15 new articles were added, though the net increase in start or stub articles was only three. The highest quality set of articles for a basin is for the Eastern Pacific Ocean, of which half of its articles are either a good article or better; all of its retired storm articles are good or better. However, the basin has a lower total number of articles, and the Atlantic basin has a higher overall total of good articles.

There is a drive to increase the number of featured topics, which is located on the project talk page.

Number 15, April 5, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Jokwe was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Mozambique since Cyclone Favio struck in the previous year. The tenth named storm of the 2007-08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Jokwe was first classified as a tropical depression on March 2 over the open Southwest Indian Ocean. It tracked west-southwest, crossing northern Madagascar as a tropical storm on March 5 before intensifying into a tropical cyclone on March 6. Jokwe rapidly intensified to reach peak winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), before weakening slightly and striking Nampula Province in northeastern Mozambique. It quickly weakened while paralleling the coastline, though the storm restrengthened as it turned southward in the Mozambique Channel. Late in its duration, it remained nearly stationary for several days, and steadily weakened due to wind shear before dissipating on March 16.

The storm caused minor damage in northern Madagascar. In Mozambique, the cyclone affected 165,000 people, and left at least sixteen fatalities. Cyclone Jokwe destroyed over 9,000 houses and damaged over 3,000 more, with the heaviest damage in Angoche and the Island of Mozambique in Nampula Province. The storm also caused widespread power outages and crop damages.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• There were no named tropical cyclones in the South Pacific ocean, though a tropical depression developed near Vanuatu in the third week of the month.
• Late in the month, Cyclone Pancho developed in the Australian region, reaching peak winds of 90 knots. In addition, Cyclone Ophelia lasted from late February through early March.
• In addition to Cyclone Jokwe, there were two named tropical cyclones in the Southwest Indian Ocean; Cyclone Kamba became an Intense Tropical Cyclone over open waters, and Tropical Storm Lola formed and dissipated near Mauritius late in the month.

Member of the month

The March member of the month is CapeVerdeWave, whose first edit was to a tropical cyclone article, back in January 2006. CapeVerdeWave has been a steady and active member of the project, writing several articles on Category 5 hurricanes as well as working on the often forgotten older hurricanes. The user also has contributed to some older season articles, and recently helped update the project after the recent hurricane re-analysis. We thank him for his continued dedication.

New members

New and improved articles

• There were 6 new pieces of Featured content : Typhoon Paka, List of wettest tropical cyclones in the United States, Effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America, List of retired Pacific typhoon names (JMA), Tropical Storm Vamei, and List of New York hurricanes
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Beulah, Hurricane Ione, Hurricane Isidore
• New storm articles include: 1945 Southeast Florida hurricane, Hurricane Fox (1952)
• New non-storm articles include: Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Florida, List of North Carolina hurricanes (1900-1949)

Main Page content

• Today's Featured Article: 1933 Atlantic hurricane season appeared on the Main Page in the Today's Featured Article on March 27
• Entries from 1 article: 1917 Pinar del Río hurricane appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during March.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar
FA	33	33	36	38
A	9	9	8	8
GA	112	114	123	130
B	86	99	96	91
Start	208	214	216	211
Stub	6	3	6	9
Total	454	472	485	487
ω	2.98	2.98	2.96	2.94
percentage Less than B	47.1	46.0	45.8	45.2
percentage GA or better	33.9	33.1	34.3	36.1

Project News: Updates on the Best Track - Atlantic and North Indian Ocean, and more
In February, the Hurricane Research Division released its reanalysis for the Atlantic Ocean from 1915 to 1920. Highlights include the addition of eight storms, as well as the removal of one storm. The winds in the 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane were increased to 130 knots, and the 1916 Texas hurricane was increased to a Category 4 hurricane.

According to an email sent to the India Meteorological Department, there will be an online version of the North Indian Ocean best track from 1877 to 2006, scheduled to be released in two months; it is unknown if it will cost money to access.

In unrelated news, the project was featured on the Signpost; Mitchazenia was interviewed, and talked about the past, present, and future of the project.

At the end of the month, there were five different Featured content candidates (FXC's) by five different editors; two were featured article candidates, two were featured list candidates, and one was a featured picture candidate. The have been a few times in which there were four FXC's from four different editors, most recently in February and early March of 2008.

Number 16, May 3, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Typhoon Neoguri was the earliest tropical cyclone on record to strike China. It formed on April 13 to the east of the Philippines, and once entering the South China Sea, environmental conditions allowed for quick strengthening. Neoguri attained its peak intensity of 150 km/h (90 mph) as it approached the island of Hainan, though rapidly weakened due to unfavorable conditions. The system made landfall in southern China on April 19, causing three deaths and moderate damage totaling over ¥296 million (2008 RMB, $42 million 2008 USD). The typhoon left 40 fishermen missing in the South China Sea.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• A weak tropical depression formed near New Caledonia in the South Pacific ocean early in the month, and another tropical depression developed in the basin later in the month.
• Two named storms formed in the Australian region during the month, including Tropical Cyclone Durga, which was the first ever cyclone named by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia. Tropical Cyclone Rosie co-existed with Durga for much of its duration.
• Cyclone Nargis developed in the North Indian Ocean late in the month, and reached its peak intensity early in May; further details will be covered in the next newsletter.

Member of the month

The April member of the month is VOFFA. Though not officially a project member, VOFFA is an important user to the project, having maintained and updated the talk page archives on tropical cyclones worldwide; activity includes adding warnings and discussions for all storms. The user is particularly active during the off-season of the Atlantic basin, when article activity on tropical cyclones typically declines.

New members

New and improved articles

• There were six new pieces of Featured content : Cyclone Elita, List of North Carolina hurricanes (1900-1949), Tropical Storm Barry (2007), List of North Carolina hurricanes, Lists of North Carolina hurricanes (FT), and Image:KatrinaNewOrleansFlooded edit2.jpg
• New Good articles include: Tropical Storm Fay (2002), 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, 1939 California tropical storm
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Ileana (2006), Hurricane Madeline (1998), Hurricane Lester (1998)
• New non-storm articles include: Hurricane Ivan tornado outbreak, Timeline of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season

Main Page content

• Entries from 9 articles: Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Alabama, Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Georgia, Cyclone Jokwe, Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Mississippi, Tropical Storm Arthur (1996), Cyclone Gamede, Cyclone Glenda, Hurricane Cosme (2007), and Typhoon Neoguri (2008) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during April.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
FA	33	36	38	40
A	9	8	8	8
GA	114	123	130	131
B	99	96	91	103
Start	214	216	211	208
Stub	3	6	9	9
Total	472	485	487	499
ω	2.98	2.96	2.94	2.92
percentage Less than B	46.0	45.8	45.2	43.5
percentage GA or better	33.1	34.3	36.1	35.9

Project News
There is discussion on the status of articles on non-notable storms in the Merging page of the project. Comments are welcome.

A Wikipedia traffic counter was launched earlier this year. In the month of February, the article on Hurricane Katrina was viewed just over 200,000 times, making the article the 496th most viewed article on the English Wikipedia during the month.

During the month, Hurricane Camille was demoted from GA status, continuing the trend of good articles degrading in status on notable storms; other occurrences include the FA removal of Cyclone Tracy and 1900 Galveston Hurricane. If anyone has any ideas how to fix the problem, feedback and ideas are appreciated.

Number 17, June 7, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Nargis was the costliest and deadliest natural disaster in the history of Burma (Myanmar). It formed on April 27 in the central Bay of Bengal, and after initially tracking north-northwestward it turned to the east. Quickly strengthening to reach peak winds of at least 165 km/h (105 mph), Nargis made landfall in the Ayeyarwady Division of Burma on May 2 near peak intensity. The cyclone killed at least 80,000 people and potentially over 300,000. Passing near the metropolis of Yangon, the cyclone destroyed thousands of buildings, and damage was estimated at over $10 billion (USD). In the wake of the storm, the ruling military junta of Burma initially refused foreign aid, and after they allowed foreign assistance, the government was criticized for its poor handling of the aftermath of the storm.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Northwestern Pacific Ocean – Typhoon Rammasun was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide during the month, though it did not affect land. Tropical Storm Matmo formed east of Luzon in the middle of the month and lasted for three days. Severe Tropical Storm Halong (Cosme) was the deadliest storm in the Pacific basin, causing 58 deaths and $94 million (USD) in damage after hitting Luzon on May 17. At the end of the month, Typhoon Nakri formed and reached peak intensity over open waters before becoming extratropical in early June.
• Eastern Pacific Ocean – Tropical Storm Alma was was the easternmost forming Pacific tropical cyclone on record. Forming from a trough on May 29, it became a strong tropical storm before making landfall near León, Nicaragua, killing at least two people.
• 2008 Atlantic hurricane season– Tropical Storm Arthur formed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Alma as it made landfall on Belize, causing flash flooding and at least nine fatalities.

New and improved articles

• There were three new pieces of Featured content : 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, List of United States hurricanes, Tropical Depression Ten (2007)
• New Good articles include: Cyclone Gamede, Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Georgia, 1987 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Lili, 1959 Mexico Hurricane
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Alma (1996), Hurricane Gladys (1975), Hurricane Liza (1968)
• New non-storm articles include: Hurricane Frances tornado outbreak, List of Maryland and Washington, D.C. hurricanes (1980–present), 1851 Atlantic hurricane season

Project News
Several other languages are active in the realm of tropical cyclone articles, though as much as ours. The French Wikipedia has 76 storm articles, the Spanish Wikipedia has 99 storm articles, and the Portuguese Wikipedia has 116 storm articles. Each of the projects have several storm articles we do not have, and the coverage on non-notable storms outside of the Atlantic is better, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere.

During the month, User:Potapych finished working on Template:Infobox Hurricane Small, which is used for the small Infoboxes in season articles; he has updated several season article already with the changes.

Main Page content

• Cyclone Nargis appeared early in the month in the In the news column
• Entries from three articles: Hurricane Madeline (1998), Hurricane Alma (1996), and Hurricane Liza (1968) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during May.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
FA	36	38	40	41
A	8	8	8	17
GA	123	130	131	129
B	96	91	103	101
Start	216	211	208	209
Stub	7	9	9	9
Total	487	487	499	506
ω	2.96	2.94	2.92	2.88
percentage ≥Less than B	45.8	45.2	43.5	43.1
percentage ≥GA or better	34.3	36.1	35.9	367.0

Member of the month

The May member of the month is Juliancolton. Joining the project in November 2007, Julian has become an active member of the project, working on new articles in the Atlantic basin. He has created two featured lists (List of Maryland and Washington, D.C. hurricanes (1980–present) and List of New York hurricanes), and rewrote the article on 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which became featured during May. Juliancolton is currently working on a featured topic for Hurricane Dennis and its effects by region.

New members

• HkCaGu
• Leolisa1997
• Itfc+canes=me

Number 18, July 5, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Typhoon Fengshen was the deadliest Pacific typhoon since Typhoon Durian in November of 2006. The sixth named storm of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season, Fengshen developed on June 18 to the east of the Philippines, and after attaining typhoon status it stuck the island of Samar. It intensified while passing through the archipelago, reaching winds of over 175 km/h (110 mph) before passing near Metro Manila. Fengshen later weakened in the South China Sea, and it dissipated on June 26 after moving ashore in China.

The typhoon killed over 1,300 people, including 800 when the MV Princess of the Stars capsized during the storm. Damage totaled $247 million (USD), with over 300,000 houses damaged or destroyed. The damage total included $70 million (USD) in crop damage.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season — Two tropical depressions form during the month, including one in each sub-basin. The second depression hit Bangladesh, which added to flooding and damage across the area.
• Northwestern Pacific Ocean – In addition to Fengshen, Typhoon Nakri became extratropical early in the month.
• Eastern Pacific Ocean – Hurricane Boris and Tropical Storm Cristina form and co-exist well to the southwest of Mexico in the last week of the month through early July.
• 2008 Atlantic hurricane season– Tropical Storm Arthur dissipates over the Yucatán Peninsula early in the month.

New and improved articles

• There was one new piece of Featured content : List of Maryland and Washington, D.C. hurricanes (1980–present)
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Kyle (2002), Cyclone Bola, Hurricane Guillermo (1997)
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Jimena (2003), Hurricane Huko (2002)
• New non-storm articles include: 1968 Atlantic hurricane season, 1999 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Effects of Hurricane Charley in South Carolina, List of unnamed tropical cyclones

Addition of C-class
During the month, C-class was added to the assessment scheme. The project has begun the process of integrating C-class, though as of this publication only 8 articles in the project are at that level. A preliminary solution would be to very strictly define B-class with six criteria, with one proposal to automatically re-assess all B-class articles as C-class until they are confirmed to have passed the criteria. Discussion and participation are welcome on the issue.

As a result of the addition of C-class, the ω (WikiWork) rating for C-class is now 3.5, to keep in line with the previous system we used.

During the month, the project published a page on its style for articles. The purpose for the page, as quoted from the top of the page, is to document a few existing unwritten guidelines for Wikipedia:WikiProject Tropical cyclones.

Main Page content

• 2006 Atlantic hurricane season appeared as Today's Featured Article on June 10
• Typhoon Fengshen (2008) appeared early in the month in the In the news column
• Entries from articles: 1851 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Patsy (1959), Effects of Hurricane Charley in South Carolina, 1968 Pacific hurricane season, Hurricane Huko (2002), Hurricane Ivo (2007) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during June.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
FA	38	40	41	41
A	8	8	17	18
GA	130	131	129	135
B	91	103	101	96
C	0	0	0	3
Start	211	208	209	208
Stub	9	9	9	9
Total	487	499	506	510
ω	2.94	2.92	2.88	2.87
percentage ≥Less than C	45.2	43.5	43.1	42.5
percentage ≥GA or better	36.1	35.9	37.0	38.0

Member of the month

The June member of the month is User:Potapych. Though not officially a member of the project, Potapych is active on hurricane pages, having developed the new small infobox template introduced last month. After developing the new template, Potapych updated season articles across the board to accommodate the new template.

New members

• Super-Magician

Number 19, August 2, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Hurricane Bertha was a rare early season Cape Verde-type hurricane and the easternmost forming July tropical storm on record. Bertha became the longest-lived pre-August Atlantic tropical cyclone on record and the longest-lived tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Basin since Ivan in 2004. The second named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Bertha developed from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on July 1. After initially remaining weak while tracking westward, Bertha began to strengthen on July 6, and the next day it quickly intensified to reach peak winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). The hurricane weakened during the day on July 8, and after turning to a northwest drift, it passed within 40 miles (64 km) of Bermuda on July 14 before moving northeast away from the island. Bertha became extratropical on July 20 to the east of Newfoundland, after causing minimal damage and three indirect drowning deaths.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Northwestern Pacific Ocean – After several weeks of no activity, Typhoon Kalmaegi developed in the middle of the month, passing near northern Luzon before turning to the north and making landfalls on Taiwan and China; the typhoon caused heavy crop damage and 18 deaths. Later in the month, Typhoon Fung-Wong caused further flooding in Taiwan and China. In addition to the two named typhoons, PAGASA issued advisories on Tropical Depression Gener early in the month.
• Eastern Pacific Ocean – Four named storms developed in the basin during the month, of which three became hurricanes; Hurricanes Elida, Fausto, and Genevieve, as well as Tropical Storm Douglas, all remained offshore, though in the middle of the month a tropical depression brought rainfall to Mexico after hitting near Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. Hurricane Boris and Tropical Storm Cristina continued from the previous month.
• Atlantic Ocean– In addition to Hurricane Bertha, two other tropical cyclones developed in the month. Tropical Storm Cristobal formed off the coast of Florida, bringing rainfall and gusty winds to coastal North Carolina and later Nova Scotia. The most damaging Atlantic tropical cyclone during the month was Hurricane Dolly, which formed on July 20 in the western Caribbean Sea. After tracking northwestward through the Gulf of Mexico, it reached peak winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) before moving ashore on South Padre Island, Texas. The hurricane caused flash flooding from heavy rainfall, with damage in the United States estimated at $1.2 billion; across its path Dolly caused 21 deaths, including 17 from landslides in Guademala, as well as two indirect fatalities.

Member of the month

The July member of the month is User:Plasticup. Joining the project in August of 2007, Plasticup first became an asset in working on the active article series on Hurricane Dean. After a period of inactivity, the user returned to produce two featured articles this month, both interesting meteorological histories. Additionally, Plasticup has focused some attention to articles in the 2005 season. Keep up the good work!

New members

New and improved articles

• There were five new pieces of Featured content : 1998 Pacific hurricane season (FT), Tropical Storm Chantal (2001), Meteorological history of Hurricane Dean, 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, and Meteorological history of Hurricane Gordon (1994)
• New Good articles include: Atlantic tropical cyclone, Cyclone Bola, Maximum sustained wind, Hurricane Henriette (2007)
• New storm articles include: Great Barbados hurricane, 2002 Oman cyclone, Tropical Storm Kiko (2007)
• New non-storm articles include: Meteorological history of Hurricane Jeanne, Maximum potential intensity

Main Page content

• Typhoon Paka appeared as Today's Featured Article on July 5
• Typhoon Kalmaegi and Hurricane Dolly appeared in the In the news column during the month
• Entries from 2 articles: Meteorological history of Hurricane Gordon (1994) and 1891 Martinique hurricane, appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during July.

Storm article statistics </noinclude>

Grade	Apr	May	Jun	Jul
FA	40	41	41	42
A	8	17	18	18
GA	131	129	135	139
B	103	101	96	15
C	0	0	3	98
Start	208	209	208	202
Stub	9	9	9	10
Total	499	506	510	524
ω	2.92	2.88	2.87	2.94
percentage ≥Less than C	43.5	43.1	42.5	40.5
percentage ≥GA or better	35.9	37.0	38.0	38.0

Project News
During July, there were two large changes to the operations of the WikiProject. First, WPTC adopted and helped develop the WP 1.0 B-Class criteria, and was among the first projects to use a "forced" B-Class rubric as part of their assessment schemes. This means that all the articles tagged with ((hurricane|class=B|...)) are automatically reassessed as ((C-Class)), unless all the values in the checklist are marked as passed. In other words, to mark an article as B-Class, the banner needs to be changed to

((hurricane |class=B |B1=yes |B2=yes  |B3=yes |B4=yes |B5=yes |B6=yes | ... ))

B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6 stand for each of the six points in the WikiProject's rubric. The banner also has the capability to mark why an article doesn't meet the new B-Class standards: Typing the following in an article's talk page

((hurricane |class=B |B1=no |B2=yes |B3=yes |B4=yes |B5=yes |B6=yes | ... ))

will assess an article as C-Class, and mark that the article is not a B because of bad references.

Articles assessed as B's before the introduction of the forced checklist were automatically reassessed as C's, but they're awaiting new reviews to check if they still meet the new B criteria. These articles are listed on Category:Tropical cyclone articles with incomplete B-Class checklists. Currently, there's 117 articles in the category—let's try to shrink that number to zero before the next edition of the Herald!

The other major change to the WikiProject was the addition of three task forces: the storm articles task force, season articles task force, and the tropical meteorology articles task force. These three task forces allow WPTC to see the progress of the different areas of the WikiProject. Currently, all 1,076 WPTC articles have been assigned to one of the three task forces, but any unsorted articles will be placed in Category:Unsorted tropical cyclone articles as they're tagged with ((hurricane)).

In order to categorize an article, the banner needs to be modified from ((hurricane|...)) to:

((hurricane |storms-task-force=yes | ... ))
((hurricane |seasons-task-force=yes | ... ))
((hurricane |meteo-task-force=yes | ... ))

which will sort the pages into the storms, seasons, and tropical meteorology task forces, respectively.

Number 20, September 6, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Hurricane Gustav was a deadly and damaging hurricane which formed late in the month in the Caribbean Sea. It first struck Haiti on August 26 as a minimal hurricane, where it killed 76 people and damaged or destroyed over 10,000 houses. Gustav turned to the southwest, moving over Jamaica where it killed 11 people. The hurricane rapidly intensified to reach peak winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) before making landfall on western Cuba; in the country, Gustav damaged or destroyed over 100,000 houses, though no deaths were reported due to well-executed evacuations. In the Gulf of Mexico, Gustav weakened due to its previous land interaction, and on September 1 it made landfall in south-central Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane, where it caused heavy damage. Across its path, the hurricane caused 101 deaths, with an initial damage total of $20 billion.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Atlantic Ocean– In addition to Gustav, three other tropical cyclones formed. Early in the month, Tropical Storm Edouard caused light damage when it moved ashore along Texas. In the middle of the month, Tropical Storm Fay formed over Hispaniola and later crossed over Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico; throughout the Caribbean it caused 25 deaths. Fay struck southwestern Florida, moved across the state, turned to the west, and moved across the Florida panhandle, making a record four landfalls on the state. The storm dropped 27.65 inches (702.1 mm) of rain in Melbourne, making Fay the fourth wettest Florida tropical cyclone. In the end of the month, Hurricane Hanna formed northeast of the Lesser Antilles; its impact will be covered in the next month's summary.
• Eastern Pacific Ocean – Four named storms developed in the basin during the month, including Tropical Storm Kika, which was the first Central Pacific tropical cyclone since Ioke in 2006. Hurricane Hernan was the strongest hurricane of the month in the basin, reaching Category 3 status while remaining away from land. Tropical Storm Iselle lasted for a few days, but did not affect land. Tropical Storm Julio made landfall on Baja California Sur, producing heavy rainfall and causing two deaths.
• Northwestern Pacific Ocean – The month began with Tropical Storm Kammuri forming and hitting southern China; the storm killed 140 people, mostly in neighboring Vietnam, and damage totaled $120 million (USD). Tropical Storms Phanfone and Vongfone lasted for a few days out at sea, before Typhoon Nuri formed and struck northern Luzon, causing 12 deaths.
• 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season – A depression formed and struck Odisha.

Member of the month

The August member of the month is Cyclonebiskit, who has been on Wikipedia since April. The user helped maintain the current season articles as well as storm articles. Cyclonebiskit has written one GA, and wrote much of one of the recent tropical cyclone articles.

New members

New and improved articles

• There were eight new pieces of Featured content : Hurricane Vince (2005), Meteorological history of Hurricane Jeanne, 2005 Azores subtropical storm, Timeline of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Barry (2001), Timeline of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Kyle (2002)
• New Good articles include: Effects of Hurricane Charley in South Carolina, Tropical cyclone rainfall forecasting
• New storm articles include: Tropical Storm Andrew (1986), Tropical Depression Nine (2000), Tropical Storm Norman (2006)
• New non-storm articles include: List of off-season Atlantic hurricanes, Meteorological history of Tropical Storm Allison, 1967 Pacific hurricane season, List of Maryland hurricanes (1950–1979), and Effects of Hurricane Noel in the United States

Main Page content

• Hurricane Gloria appeared as Today's Featured Article on August 13
• Tropical Storm Kammuri (2008) and Hurricane Gustav appeared on In the news during August.
• Entries from articles: Tropical Storm Kiko (2007), List of off-season Atlantic hurricanes, Tropical Storm Andrew (1986), and Meteorological history of Tropical Storm Allison appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during August.

Storm article statistics

Grade	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
FA	41	41	42	46
A	17	18	18	18
GA	129	135	139	147
B	101	96	15	15
C	0	3	98	99
Start	209	208	202	197
Stub	9	9	10	15
Total	506	510	524	537
ω	2.88	2.87	2.94	2.92
percentage ≥Less than C	43.1	42.5	40.5	39.5
percentage ≥GA or better	37.0	38.0	38.0	39.3

Version 0.7
This month, several of the WikiProject's articles were selected for the Version 1.0 Editorial Team's Version 0.7 static release. The article selection occurs using an automated process using WikiProjects' quality and importance assessments. For WPTC, this means that 29 articles will be part of this release, an increase from 13 in the previous release. It should be noted that these numbers are based on preliminary data that can change based on updates to the database and corrections to the selection algorithm and WP:1.0's cut-off score.

The list of articles chosen for the release can be seen here. Of the selection, almost half of the articles are already featured, and eleven are good articles. There one B-Class article (1970 Bhola cyclone, two C-Class articles (Hurricane Andrew, Cyclone Nargis), and two Start-Class articles (Pacific typhoon, Hurricane Rita). As these articles will be published in a CD, it is imperative that the project improve them quickly.

The full list of all the WikiProject's articles is also available here. According to that list, WPTC's highest-scoring article—Tropical cyclone—has a score of 1969, which is very good as Canada, the selection's highest-scoring article, has a score of 2,409. That said, Extreme wind warning is the least important article we have, with a score of 227, so we may have to improve it a little bit so it isn't that low...

Number 21, October 4, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Hurricane Ike was among the costliest Atlantic hurricanes on record, based on a preliminary damage estimate of $31.5 billion (USD). The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2008 season, Ike developed on September 1 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Maintaining a generally westward track throughout its duration, Ike reached Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale, moving across the Turks and Caicos Islands at that intensity before weakening and crossing Cuba; heavy damage was reported in Cuba, which was still recovering from Hurricane Gustav just weeks prior. Gustav later moved across the Gulf of Mexico and struck near Galveston, Texas, where its effects were estimated as the costliest hurricane in Texas history. Further inland, the storm brought high winds and widespread damage, and its impact reached as far as Canada. Throughout its path, Gustav caused over 100 deaths, mostly in Texas and Haiti, and several hundred remain missing.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Atlantic Ocean– In addition to Ike, two hurricanes from the previous month, Gustav and Hanna, lasted into September, both striking the United States. Tropical Storm Josephine formed while Ike and Hanna were active; it remained away from land and dissipated four days after forming. The tropics were quiet in the Atlantic for about 10 days after Ike dissipated, until Hurricane Kyle formed north of Hispaniola; its precursor brought heavy rains to the Greater Antilles, and Kyle ultimately became extratropical as it moved into Atlantic Canada. At the end of the month, Tropical Storm Laura formed from a subtropical cyclone far away from land; it persisted until early October, when it lost tropical characteristics to the southeast of Newfoundland.
• Eastern Pacific Ocean– The month in the eastern Pacific Ocean was the quietest on record, in terms of ACE index. Early in the month, Tropical Storm Karina lasted for two days without affecting land. A few days later, Tropical Storm Lowell formed and later affected the Baja California peninsula and mainland Mexico as a tropical depression; its remnants merged with the remnants of Ike.
• Western Pacific Ocean– Five named storms developed in the western Pacific, beginning with Typhoon Sinlaku which became a powerful cyclone before weakening and bringing heavy rainfall to Taiwan; there, it caused 11 deaths and heavy damage, and it later affected Japan. The second storm of the month was Typhoon Hagupit, which caused $1 billion (USD) in damage and 68 deaths when it struck China. Typhoon Jangmi was next, which brought further damage and deaths to Taiwan. Two more tropical storms developed during the month; Mekkhala formed in the South China Sea and caused heavy damage in Vietnam, while Higos moved across the Philippines and later struck China.
• North Indian Ocean– One deep depression formed during the month, which moved ashore in the Indian province of Odisha; it caused 25 deaths from heavy rainfall.

Member of the month

The September member of the month is CrazyC83, who has been a steady editor within the project for the past few years. Lately, the user's contributions include maintaining the current season articles, which is the biggest workload for the project. In the past, however, CrazyC83 was very active in writing articles, and was a proponent for all storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season getting articles. Of note was his contributions to Hurricane Juan, which brought it to featured status and later to the main page.

New and improved articles

• There were six new pieces of Featured content : Meteorological history of Tropical Storm Allison, 1997 Pacific hurricane season (FT), 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, Image:Hurricane Isabel eye from ISS (edit 1).jpg, Category 5 Pacific hurricanes (FT), and Hurricane Dean
• New Good articles include: 2002 Pacific hurricane season, Tropical Depression Seven (2003), Hurricane Ekeka (1992), Tropical Storm Emilia (2006), Tropical Storm Hanna (2002), Tropical Storm Erick (2007)
• New storm articles include: Typhoon Pabuk (2007), Typhoon Angela (1995), Hurricane Fausto (2002), Cyclone Graham, Tropical Storm Josephine (2002), Tropical Storm Miriam (2006)
• New non-storm articles include: Ocean Prediction Center, Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida

Main Page content

• Image:Hurricane Isabel 18 sept 2003 1555Z.jpg appeared as the picture of the day on September 18
• Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Hanna (2008), Hurricane Ike, and Typhoon Hagupit (2008) appeared on In the news during September.
• Entries from 7 articles: Effects of Hurricane Noel in the United States, Effects of Tropical Storm Allison in Texas, Cyclone Graham, List of storms in the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Gilma (2006), Hurricane Joyce (2000), and Hurricane Bonnie (1998) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during September.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep
FA	41	42	46	47
A	18	18	18	19
GA	135	139	147	161
B	96	15	15	17
C	3	98	99	107
Start	208	202	197	201
Stub	9	10	15	19
Total	510	524	537	571
ω	2.87	2.94	2.92	2.92
percentage ≥Less than C	42.5	40.5	39.5	38.5
percentage ≥GA or better	38.0	38.0	39.3	39.8

Project News
Overall, the project has had a relatively uneventful month. One of the most noteworthy events was the selection of 32 tropical cyclone-related articles, that were chosen as part of Wikipedia 0.7. Wikipedia 0.7 is a collection of English Wikipedia articles due to be released on DVD, and available for free download, later this year. While many of the selected articles are of featured or good quality, several require substantial cleanup and expansion.

In other news, a handful of changes to project standards have taken place. Per a consensus on the project's talk page, the section of each tropical cyclone article previously entitled "Storm history" has been changed to "Meteorological history", thanks in part to Plasticup's bot which preformed the hundreds of edits to execute the change. In addition, a discussion is ongoing regarding the necessity of List of storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, and similar articles for other seasons.

New members

• Anymediaguy
• Pérez
• Jer10 95

Number 22, November 2, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Atlantic Ocean– In the Atlantic, four tropical cyclones formed this October. Tropical Storm Marco formed in the Bay of Campeche on October 6. It made landfall on October 8 and is one of the smallest Atlantic tropical cyclones since 1988. Tropical Storm Nana formed October 12 in the middle of the open Atlantic. It had no impact anywhere and dissipated October 14. Hurricane Omar formed October 13 and dissipated October 18. Eventually peaking as a Category 4 hurricane, Omar passed through the Lesser Antilles twice, including once near peak intensity. Fortunately, it caused only one indirect death. Tropical Depression Sixteen formed on October 16 and dissipated two days later after making landfall. It killed 16 to 20 people in Central America.

• Eastern Pacific Ocean– In the eastern north Pacific, three tropical cyclones formed this October. Hurricane Norbert formed October 3 and dissipated October 12. The strongest storm thus far this season, Norbert is the first hurricane to strike the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula since 1968. Eight deaths have been blamed on the hurricane.. Tropical Storm Odile formed October 8 and paralleled the coast of Mexico before dissipating on October 12. Tropical Depression Seventeen-E formed on October 23 and dissipated the next day without impacting land.

• Western Pacific Ocean– In the western north Pacific, two tropical cyclones formed. Tropical Storm Bavi formed October 18 in the open Pacific. It never came near land and dissipated three days later. Tropical Depression Twenty Two-W formed on October 13 in the Gulf of Tonkin and made landfall on October 15. It dissipated inland the next day.

• North Indian– In the northern Indian Ocean, two cyclones formed. Besides Deep Depression ARB 02, which caused flooding that killed 184 people in Yemen, Cyclonic Storm Rashmi formed October 25 and made landfall three days later. It killed two people.

• South-West Indian – The 2008-09 South West Indian Ocean Season got off to an early start with two pre season zones of disturbed weather. The first zone of disturbed weather formed on October 6 and did not develop any further. Whilst the second zone of disturbed weather formed on October 16 and developed in to Moderate Tropical Storm Asma.

Member of the month

The October member of the month is Hurricanehink. Since joining the project near its inception, Hurricanehink has been involved in bringing forty two articles, eighteen lists and six topics to featured status. Just this month, Hurricanehink was mentioned in the Signpost Dispatch. Hurricanehink has also been the regular distributor for this newsletter.

New members

• Izmir2
• Emarsee
• HairyPerry
• Dylan620
• Yellow Evan
• Spin

New and improved articles

• There were new pieces of Featured content : Hurricane Dean (FT), Timeline of the 2007 Pacific hurricane season, Tropical Storm Hanna (2002), Timeline of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Hernan (2008), Effects of Tropical Storm Allison in Texas, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Joyce (2000), Hurricane Elida (2008), Tropical Storm Lester (2004), Tropical Storm Arlene (1959), Tropical Storm Rosa (2006), Cyclone Daman, Hurricane Donna, Hurricane Rosa (1994), 1994 Pacific hurricane season, Hurricane Fern (1971), Tropical Storm Frances (1998), and 1982 Pacific typhoon season
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Marie (2008) Tropical Storm Dora (2005), Tropical Storm Karina (2008), Hurricane Norbert (2008), Cyclone Cliff, Tropical Storm Arlene (1959), Tropical Storm Rosa (2006), Hurricane Otis (2005), Tropical Storm Kika (2008), Cyclone Elisa (2008), Tropical Storm Lidia (2005), Tropical Depression Fifteen (2007), Tropical Depression Seven (2002)
• New non-storm articles include: 1966 Pacific hurricane season, 1854 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 2003 Pacific hurricane season, 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Main Page content

• Entries from articles: Tropical Storm Lester (2004), Hurricane Rosa (1994), Tropical Storm Kirsten (1966), 1854 Atlantic hurricane season appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during October.
• Meteorological History of Hurricane Wilma appeared as Today's Featured Article on October 26.
• 2008 Yemen floods, caused by Deep Depression ARB 02, appeared on the Main Page in the In the News section.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
FA	42	46	47	48
A	18	18	19	19
GA	139	145	161	187
B	15	14	17	12
C	98	99	107	113
Start	202	197	201	201
Stub	10	15	19	20
Total	524	537	571	600
ω	2.94	2.92	2.92	2.88
percentage ≥Less than C	40.5	39.5	38.5	36.8
percentage ≥GA or better	38.0	39.3	39.8	42.3

Project News
A discussion concerning sandboxes for next year's articles has begun. Please consider working on sandboxes so they will be ready to publish. As tropical cyclones can form at any time in the western Pacific and northern Indian Oceans, these two season's should be made ready for cyclones by December. Ideally, due to the possibility of pre-season storms, the eastern Pacific and Atlantic seasons should also be ready by then, but they should at least be ready by the northern-Hemisphere antipeak in late February and early March. Seasons for the years 2010 to 2015 should be given the name "Post-2009 {ocean name} {cyclone term} seasons", as in "Post 2009 Atlantic hurricane seasons".

A category for tropical cyclone articles of very-low importance has been introduced. Although discussion is still ongoing, a rating of very-low-importance will generally be given to weak cyclones that do not have impact or set any sort of record.

Editorial
This month, our usual editor, Hurricanehink, has been on a semi-wikibreak until further notice. I am filling in as editor and distributor on an interim basis. The newsletter will continue as normal during that time. Thank you. Miss Madeline | Talk to Madeline 00:49, 2 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Number 23,

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Hurricane Paloma
Hurricane Paloma was the second most powerful November hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin, behind Hurricane Lenny in 1999. It was the third and final major hurricane to hit Cuba in 2008, being the first time that three major hurricanes have struck Cuba in one season. It also marked the first time that at least one major hurricane formed in every month of the hurricane season from July to November, with only June not having a major hurricane this season.

Hurricane Paloma was also the last Tropical Depression of the 2008 season, and caused at least $1.4 billion in damage and was responsible for at least one direct death.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Eastern Pacific Ocean– Tropical Storm Polo was the only Tropical Storm to form during November and December.

• Western Pacific Ocean – There were five tropical depressions during the last two months of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season. Though only four of them developed into Tropical storms with only Dolphin becoming a Typhoon.

• North Indian– There were three Tropical Depressions during the last two months of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, however there were only two that officially became Tropical Storms being named Khai-Muk and Nisha.

• South Indian– Cyclone Bernard was the first cyclone of the year to move into the Australian Region from the Southwest Indian Ocean. Forming on early on November 19 it quickly intensified into a Moderate Tropical Storm the next day, however as it moved westward it weakened into a Tropical Depression and moved into Australia's Bureau of Meteorology's area of responsibility and dissipated later on November 21.

• Australian - There were four tropical lows during November and December with Tropical Low ex Bernard moving into the Australian Region from the South-West Indian Ocean. Two of the Lows developed into Tropical Cyclones being named Anika and Billy respectively. Anika intensified into a category two cyclone whilst Cyclone Billy became a Severe Tropical Cyclone after it had affected Northern Australia.

• The 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season got off to an slow start during November and December, with three Tropical Disturbances forming during December. Only one of the tropical disturbances developed into a tropical depression.

Member of the month

The November/December member of the month is Thegreatdr, who has been a steady editor within the project for the past few years. Lately, the user's contributions include improving some of the Pacific Typhoon season articles from the 1980s. Thegreatdr has also tipped us off about going on's at the National Hurricane Center and the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.

New members

• Aquamelli * DavidWS * Ramisses * Renereynoso * VeronicaPR * Neutralhomer * VOFFA * Catalan * HurricaneSpin * HERB * NuclearWarfare

New and improved articles

• There were new pieces of Featured content : Timeline of the 2005 Pacific hurricane season, Tropical Storm Erick (2007), Tropical Storm Gabrielle (2007), Timeline of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season
  • 1994 Pacific hurricane season became the project's first Good topic.
• New Good articles include: 1981 Pacific typhoon season, 1983 Pacific typhoon season, 1994 Pacific typhoon season, Hurricane Karl (1998), Tropical Depression One-C (2005), Tropical Storm Dorothy (1970), Tropical Storm Hermine (1998), Cyclone Gene
• New storm articles include: Tropical Storm Guchol (2005), Hurricane Paloma (2008), Hurricane Douglas (2002), Hurricane Florence (1994), Tropical Storm Vongfong (2008), Cyclone Rosie (2008), Tropical Storm Becky (1970), Hurricane Hector (2006), Hurricane Karl (1998)
• New non-storm articles include: Timeline of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season, 2009 Pacific typhoon season, Timeline of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season

Main Page content

• Facts from 2008's Cyclone Rosie, 1970's Tropical Storm Becky, 2005's Tropical Depression One-C & 1998's Hurricane Lisa appeared in the Did You Know? section of the Main Page during November.
• Hurricane Paloma appeared on the Main Page in the In the News section.
• Facts from 1998's Hurricane Karl, 2006's Tropical Storm Olivia & 1969's Hurricane Holly appeared in the Did You Know? section of the Main Page during December.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
FA	47	49	49	50
A	19	19	19	19
GA	161	187	198	202
B	17	13	21	22
C	107	119	118	122
Start	201	204	210	210
Stub	19	19	16	17
Total	571	613	631	642
ω	2.92	2.88	2.87	2.87
percentage ≥Less than C	38.5	36.4	35.8	35.4
percentage ≥GA or better	39.8	42.1	42.2	42.2

Project News
During the last two months there have been several important discussions of which some are still seeking contributions from members. These include discussions about:

Project Importance - Is it better to rate Storm Importance by basin or by overall importance? - There seems to be a consensus to rate storm importance on a case by case basis, though there still needs to be a bit more discussion on this matter.

Prominent units within TC articles: Imperial or SI? - Which should be the prominent unit outside the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Basins, Knots or MPH? Generally people think that Knots should not be used except in the general science articles and infoboxes.

ACE - Where and how, should it be used? - We have decided that it should not be used outside the Atlantic or the Eastern Pacific hurricane Seasons. A debate is still ongoing with a view too get rid of it all together.

JMA Tropical Depressions Should we include them with the season articles or not? - The general consensus so far seems to be that we should include them in the season articles though this debate is still ongoing.

We discovered during December that the Australian Bureau of Meteorology have started to designate the Tropical Lows that form within their region with letter U. It is unclear whether either TCWC Jakarta or TCWC Port Moresby assign any designations to lows that form within their Area of Responsibility.

Number 24, March 7

The Hurricane Herald

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Western Pacific Ocean– The first tropical cyclone of the season was Tropical Depression Auring, as designated by PAGASA. It formed on January 3 to the east of the Philippines, producing heavy rainfall and flooding on Mindanao island. Never organizing much, the depression dissipated a few days after forming, causing one death and destroying 305 houses. The next month, Tropical Depression Bising formed near Palau and, moving westward, later passed through the Philippines as a remnant low; rainfall from the system produced mudslides, though no major damage was reported.
• South-West Indian– Tropical Storm Dongo was the first storm of January in the basin, and it remained over open waters without affecting landmasses throughout its duration. In the middle of the month along with Cyclone Fanele, Tropical Storm Eric developed and moved near Madagascar, killing one and producing heavy rainfall in the northeastern portion of the country. Later, Cyclone Gael killed two people on Réunion while tracking for ten days east of Madagascar; at the time it was the 2nd strongest cyclone of the season. Lastly, Tropical Storm Hina persisted for about five days, nearly reaching tropical cyclone status before weakening.
• Australia- During the previous two months their have been nine Tropical Lows with four of them becoming a Tropical Cyclone whilst the remants of Cyclone Innis briefly moved into the Australian Region from the South Pacific. Cyclones Charlotte, Dominic, Ellie, and Freddy all caused damage to Australia and or the Indonesia Islands.
• South Pacific- During the last two months the south Pacific has come alive with six depressions forming in January and February. The most significant depression was Tropical Depression 04F which brought heavy rainfall to Fiji and caused widespread flooding and killing at least 11 people. The first two named storms, Hettie and Innis also developed, each having minor effects on land.

Member of the month

The member of the month is... HurricaneSpin HurricaneSpin is a relativly new member of the project who has helped the project out by finding photos of Tropical Cyclones and uploading them to Commons. He is still getting to grips with the project but is coming on in leaps and bounds thus we have decided to make him the Member of the Month, for January and February 2009.

New members

• Chukonu xbow
• La Pianista
• Leolisa1997
• X!

New and improved articles

• There were 12 new pieces of Featured content: Typhoon Tip, Hurricane Linda (1997), Tropical Storm Keith (1988), Tropical Storm Kiko (2007), Hurricane Daniel (2006), Timeline of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season, Timeline of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season, Timeline of the 2005 Pacific hurricane season, Timeline of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season, Timeline of the 2007 Pacific hurricane season
• New Good articles include: Tropical cyclone scales, Rainband, Cyclone Agni, Hurricane Barry (1983), Hurricane Ileana (2006), Hurricane Beta (2005), 1952 Groundhog Day tropical storm
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Bonnie (1986), Hurricane Henriette (1995), Hurricane Howard (2004), Typhoon Conson (2004), Typhoon Prapiroon (2006), Typhoon Yagi (2006), and Cyclone Cliff
• New non-storm articles include: 1854 Atlantic hurricane season

Main Page content

• Entries from several articles, including Tropical Storm Kay (2004), Typhoon Wayne (1986), Effects of Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica, Tropical Depression Ten (2005), 1941 Florida hurricane, Hurricane Darby (2004), Typhoon Olive (1952), and Cyclone Arthur (2007) appeared in the Did You Know? section of the Main Page during January and February.
• Hurricane Dog (1950) appeared as Today's Featured Article on January 27.
• 2009 Fiji floods appeared on the Main Page in the In the News section.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Oct	Nov	Dec	Feb
FA	49	50	50	56
A	19	19	19	17
GA	190	198	202	239
B	13	21	22	14
C	119	118	122	122
Start	204	210	210	198
Stub	19	16	17	28
Total	613	631	642	669
ω	2.88	2.87	2.87	2.80
percentage ≥Less than C	36.4	35.8	35.4	33.0
percentage ≥GA or better	42.1	42.2	42.2	46.6

Project News
The project reached a milestone in the last two months in terms of article quality for all articles within the project. For the first time, the percentage of Good articles or better reached more than 1/3, and at the same time, the percentage of Start or Stub articles totaled less than 50%. In the previous twelve months, the overall project grew by 262 articles, of which 204, or 78%, were GA or better. Additionally, in terms of only storm articles, the project now has 46.6% of its articles as GA or better, and only 1/3 are Start or Stub. Unfortunately, much of that is due to newly-created articles easily attaining GA status. For storm articles, the total number of Start or Stub articles, currently 226, is about the same as it was a year ago. The lack of work on older articles is especially noticeable on season articles, where more than 75% of articles are still Stub or Start.

In an attempt to improve articles, there is talk of forming a collaboration between a few Wikipedians. The current project is to improve Hurricane Camille to FA status in time for its 40th anniversary this August. There is still plenty of work to be done, so if you're interested, any help would be appreciated.

Additionally, there is a recent discussion on the WPTC talk page about establishing a notability criteria. There was talk in the past of instating one, although this time the proposal is backed up by interpretations of existing Wikipedia policy. The proposal would limit articles to tropical cyclones that have at least one independent, reliable source other than any warning centers. Excluding cross-basin, off-season, or 64+ knot cyclones, the proposal would affect 26 articles, none of which affected land or lasted for an appreciable amount of time.

Number 23, June 7

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Aila was the second tropical cyclone to form within the Northern Indian Ocean during 2009. The disturbance that was to become Cyclone Aila formed on 21 May 2009 about 950 kilometres (590 mi) to the south of Kolkata, in India. Over the next couple of days the disturbance slowly developed before a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center early on 23 May 2009 and being designated as a depression by RSMC New Delhi. As of 27 May 2009^[update], 330 people have been killed by Aila and at least 8,208 more are missing, while about 1 million are homeless. Health officials in Bangladesh confirmed a deadly outbreak on diarrhea on 29 May, with more than 7,000 people being infected and four dying. In Bangladesh, an estimated 20 million people were at risk of post-disaster diseases due to Aila. Damage totaled $40.7 million (USD).

Other tropical cyclone activity

• North Atlantic

Tropical Depression One was the first tropical cyclone to develop during the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. The depression formed on May 28, out of a disorganized area of low pressure off the coast of North Carolina. However after attaining its peak strength the depression began to weaken due to increasing wind shear and cooling sea surface temperatures with the final advisory being issued on May 29.

• 2009 Pacific typhoon season - In the two month period, there were four tropical cyclones, all within a short time period and small area. Tropical Depression Crising moved through the Philippines but didn't develop. Typhoon Kujira formed over the Philippines, causing 29 deaths and almost $30 million in damage, before becoming the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. While Kujira was active, a tropical depression formed and dissipated over the open ocean, while Typhoon Chan-hom developed and organized in the South China Sea, eventually crossing Luzon and causing 60 deaths and heavy damage.
• North Indian - Aside from Aila, Cyclone Bijli formed in April, making landfall on Bangladesh and killing 7 people.
• South Indian– Cyclone Jade was the final Cyclone to form. Jade formed on April 5th from a tropical disturbance it quickly intensifed and bcame a category one tropical cyclone on the SSHS before making its first of three landfalls on Madagascar. Jade then dissipated on April 11 after causing fifteen deaths.
• Australian Region - Cyclone Kirrly formed on April 25 in the Arafura Sea to the north of Australia within 5 degrees of the equator which is an unusual area of formation. It quickly reached its peak before making landfall on eastern Indonesia.
• South Pacific - As the last newsletter was published Tropical Cyclone Lin was just devloping as Tropical depression 14F. Lin eventually went on to affect Fiji and Tonga causing at least $1000 worth of damage. Tropical Disturbance 15F also formed this month within the Solomon Islands. It moved eventually moved into the Australian Region but was not monitored by TCWC Brisbane as anything higher than an area of low pressure.

Member of the month

The member of the month is Jason Rees, who joined Wikipedia in 2007, and has written nine tropical cyclone GA's. Jason primarily focuses on Southern Hemisphere storms, as well as the Western Pacific. He has plans for featured topics for several seasons, but for now, he is a regular member of the project who adds his input in discussions on the talk page. We thank Jason for his work, and we look forward to more articles!

New members

• User:Kyle1278
• User:Bbabybear02
• User:Darren23

New and improved articles

• There were no new pieces of Featured content
• New Good articles include: 1973 Pacific hurricane season, Hurricane Kiko (1989), Tropical Storm Carlos (2003)
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Dalilia (1989), Typhoon Wipha (2007)
• New non-storm articles include: 1972 Hurricane Agnes tornado outbreak, Meteorological history of Hurricane Luis, Effects of Hurricane Georges in Louisiana, Timeline of the 2002 Pacific hurricane season

Main Page content

• Hurricane Ismael was Today's Featured Article on April 25
• Facts from the 1924 Cuba hurricane, Hurricane Lily (1971), Hurricane Tara (1961), and Hurricane Cora (1978) appeared in the Did You Know? section of the Main Page during April and May.
• Typhoon Chan-hom (2009) and Cyclone Aila appeared on the Main Page in the In the News section.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
FA	47	49	49	50
A	19	19	19	19
GA	161	187	198	202
B	17	13	21	22
C	107	119	118	122
Start	201	204	210	210
Stub	19	19	16	17
Total	571	613	631	642
ω	2.92	2.88	2.87	2.87
percentage ≥Less than C	38.5	36.4	35.8	35.4
percentage ≥GA or better	39.8	42.1	42.2	42.2

Project News
There is debate as usual with regards to notability, as well as the status of the project in general, but nothing new is going on.

During the last week, some editors have organized a page — Wikipedia:WikiProject Tropical cyclones/Viewed stats — that has a listing of monthly page views within the project. It is under construction, although it is complete for all Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones, as well as all Atlantic tropical cyclones from 1979 to the present. Interestingly, the top 6 viewed EPAC articles are all featured, and all of the top 16 in the basin are GA's. Unfortunately, the Atlantic, at least from 1979 to the present, is much worse, despite being viewed much, much more. The top eight-viewed Atlantic articles all are viewed more than 10,000 times per month, for a total of 363889 views per month, but only two of them are featured, and none of the others are GA. As always, any help in the retired storms would be greatly appreciated.

Somewhat tying into the bettering of project articles, the basin article challenge is still ongoing. Hurricanehink is currently in the lead with a GA in 2 basins. Cyclonebiskit is in 2nd, with one GA in the EPAC. The challenge is still open to anyone, and it is not so much a race, rather a challenge just to get a fairly important GA in each basin.

Number 31, September 10, 2010

The Hurricane Herald

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Atlantic Ocean– In the Atlantic Ocean, around three storms and one depression formed. Tropical Depression Four early on August 2. Early the next day, the depression strengthened further into a tropical storm and was named "Colin". Tropical Storm Colin was downgraded to a tropical depression late morning on August 8. Tropical Depression 5 formed on August 10, with no improvement, it dissipated within 24 hours. Tropical Depression Six developed near the Cape Verde Islands on August 21, the first of the series of Cape Verde-type storms. On August 22 the system attained tropical storm status, thus earning the name "Danielle" The next day it attained hurricane status, becoming the second of the season and strengthened further to a Category 2 hurricane. On August 27, Hurricane Danielle strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane, becoming the first major hurricane of the season, and further strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane shortly after.Danielle later weakened to a Category 3, then Category 2 hurricane, and later became a Category 1 Hurricane due to an eyewall replacement cycle, while avoiding land areas. It became extratropical early on August 31 southeast of Newfoundland without having directly impacted land. It was fully absorbed by a larger extratropical low on September 4 over Greenland. On August 25, Tropical Depression 7 formed east of Hurricane Danielle. Later that day it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Earl. On August 29, 2010 Earl strengthened to become the season's third hurricane. Earl then quickly intensified to become the season's second major hurricane on August 30. The hurricane weakened to a Category 3 hurricane after an eyewall replacement cycle before becoming a Category 4 again. Earl made landfall in the Canadian Maritime Provinces, twice in Nova Scotia and once in Prince Edward Island (PEI) at hurricane intensity. On August 30, when gale-force winds and better organization resulted in the development of Tropical Storm Fiona, skipping tropical depression status. It struggled to develop further, however, as it was hindered by high wind shear from the outflow of the much larger and stronger Earl.

• Eastern Pacific Ocean– Three depressions formed in the Month of August. A tropical depression formed on August 5. slowly intensified, reaching tropical storm status on August 6. On August 9, it was downgraded into a tropical depression. On August 10th Estelle dissipated. Tropical Depression Eight-E formed on August 20. However, the depression weakened slightly overnight. The depression continued to weaken and the National Hurricane Center issued its final advisory on August 22. Tropical Depression Nine-E formed on August 21 south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. It developed into a tropical storm the following morning. On August 25 it became a hurricane. Two days later, Frank weakened into a tropical storm. Rapidly weakening overnight, NHC issued that it have been degraded into an remnant low. Throughout Central America, Hurricane Frank produced torrential rain that resulted in at least 30 fatalities, most of which took place in Nicaragua and Honduras. In Guatemala alone, damage from the system was estimated to be up to $500 million. In Mexico, six deaths were reported. A total 30 homes were destroyed with 26 others damaged. Two major roads were damaged with another road blocked due to a landslides. Several rivers overflowed their banks as well. Losses from the storms totaled millions of dollars. Water Currents form a nearby volcano were damaged as well.

• Western Pacific Ocean– Eight depression formed in the Month of August. Early on August 4, After Domeng, had merged with the low pressure area PAGASA reported that Domeng had intensified into a tropical storm and reached its 10-minute peak sustained windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). In Luzon, heavy rain produced by the storm led to a few landslides, prompting road closures. Offshore, three people drowned after their boat capsized amidst rough seas produced by Domeng. Later that day PAGASA reported that Domeng had weakened into a tropical depression, before reporting early the next day that after it had passed through the Babuyan Islands, Domeng had weakened into an area of low pressure. Early on August 6, the JTWC reported that a tropical disturbance formed within the monsoon gyre about 800 km (500 mi) southeast of Taipei, Taiwan. During that day the JMA started to monitor the depression before the JTWC designated it as Tropical Depression 05W. The depression was then upgraded into a tropical storm by the JMA and named "Dianmu". After moving northward for several days, it turned northeastward and struck southern South Korea. Dianmu weakened as it crossed the Korean peninsula and emerged into the Sea of Japan. Heavy rains produced by the storm resulted in one fatality after a cargo ship sank amidst rough seas produced by the storm. This marked the first time in nine years that a rain-related fatality took place in the capital city of Seoul. More than 3,000 homes were destroyed in eastern China after heavy rains from the outer bands of Dianmu struck the region. The storm made landfall on Japan; exiting the country within five hours. Heavy rains were reported through out the islands. Nearly a week after the two ships sank off the coast of the Philippines, 31 crew members remain missing and are presumed dead after numerous coast guard rescue attempts. Damage from the storm on Jeju Island amounted to 5 billion won ($4.2 million USD). Early on August 17, an area of low pressure formed about 415 km (260 mi), northeast of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan. On the evening of August 18, as it crossed Babuyan Islands, the disturbance's low level center (LLC) weakened due to land interaction and high vertical wind shear. It regenerated on August 20 when it was located about 280 km (175 miles), to the west of Dagupan City, Pangasinan. Early on the next day, the LLCC of the disturbance became partially exposed due to a Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough (TUTT) that was developing off Luzon at that time. On the afternoon of that day, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgraded the system into a tropical depression. The next day, they further upgraded the depression into a tropical storm and named it "Mindulle". At the same time, the JTWC reported that Tropical Depression 06W has intensified into a tropical storm. Thousands of fishermen were urged to return to port. According to Vietnamese officials, contact was lost with 10 vessels on August 24 and the 137 fishermen on the ships were listed as missing. Rainfall, peaking at 297 mm (11.7 in),[59] led to significant flooding and agricultural losses. A Tropical depression formed on August 26, it survived for three days with no change in strength. it rapidly traveled northwest and dissipated on August 29. On August 28, the JMA upgraded the system to a Tropical Storm and was named "Lionrock". Early of september 1, Lionrock made a Fujiwhara effect with Namtheun, whilst Lionrock maintained it's strength while Namtheun was absorbed. Lionrock made landfall on the east coast of Guangdong Province, China, just north of the city of Shantou. It then started to dissipate and weaken into a tropical storm and moved over Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital. Lionrock soon lost it's intensity as it went over Guangdong. Midday of August 29, the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) on the system as a Low Level Circulation Centre had become organized. On the morning of that same day, the JTWC announced that the system had quickly developed into a tropical storm and assigned the designation "08W". Intensification continued, then by midday of August 30, the JMA reported that the depression had intensified into a tropical storm and assigned it the international designation "Kompasu". In addition, PAGASA also announced that the low pressure in the northeast of Batanes had formed and assigned it a local name, "Glenda". At the same time, the JTWC also upgraded Kompasu into a category 1 typhoon. On the next day, Kompasu crossed the island of Kadena and rapidly intensified into a category 2 typhoon equivalent. On September 1, Kompasu was upgraded by JTWC as a category 3 typhoon equivalent, becoming the strongest typhoon of the season. The storm later weakened to a category one typhoon in the Yellow Sea, before veering northeast and making landfall on Ganghwa Island, northwest of Incheon and Seoul, killing at least four people.[61] Kompasu was the strongest tropical storm to hit the Seoul metropolitan area in 15 years. On August 27, an extensive cloud formed in the waters east of Taiwan. On August 28, it developed into a low pressure. At 18:00, near Yaeyama Islands, the Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded the low pressure into a tropical depression. There were two tropical cyclones developing on both sides of 09W (namely Lionrock and Kompasu), and Typhoon Kompasu had a relatively stronger intensity, causing 09W moved southwest to Taiwan Strait. On August 30, it caused heavy rain in northern Taiwan. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau could only issue a tropical depression warning since it had not strengthened to a tropical storm. At 20:00, 09W suddenly intensified into a tropical storm, and was named Namtheun. However, due to the development of another stronger tropical storm Lionrock at South China Sea, the increase of intensity of Namtheun was difficult. In the evening hours of August 31, Namtheun weakened into a tropical depression north of Taiwan Strait. Whilst Lionrock maintained it's strength while Namtheun was absorbed. Late on August 28, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center reported that an area of low pressure system associated with a tropical disturbance had developed about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) to the southwest of Honolulu in Hawaii. Isolated thunderstorms were developing in association with the small low-level circulation. During the next day the disturbance moved towards the west and moved into the western Pacific where the JMA immediately designated it as a tropical depression. The depression was expected to bring inclement weather to Majauro and nearby atolls, although the system significantly weakened before reaching the area.

Member of the month

The October member of the month is CrazyC83. Since joining the project near its inception, CrazyC83 has been involved in bringing twenty two articles to Good Article status and one article to Featured Article Status. Not only this, he is been working with the [[2010 Atlantic hurricane season 24/7. Our Favorite member Jason Rees looks like he has gone on a short break with the west, but he still continues with the east.

New members

• Marcusmax
• Nascar1996
• Knowledgekid87
• Pookeo9
• Cucurbitaceae
• Anirudh Emani

New and improved articles

• Hurricane Edith (1963)
• Timeline of the 1990–91 South Pacific cyclone season
• Timeline of the 1989–90 South Pacific cyclone season
• Timeline of the 2003–04 South Pacific cyclone season
• 1776 Pointe-à-Pitre hurricane
• Typhoon Linda (1997)
• Tropical Storm Irma (1978)
• Hurricane Fernanda (1993)
• Tropical Depression One (1993)
• Tropical Storm Laura (1971)
• Tropical Depression Sixteen-E (2004)
• Cyclone Clare
• Hurricane Debbie (1969)
• Hurricane Inga (1969)
• Typhoon Angela (1989)
• Hurricane Paine (1986)‎
• Tropical Storm Alice (1953)

Storm Basics

• A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain.
• While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge as well as spawning tornadoes.
• The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, and their formation in maritime tropical air masses.
• Many tropical cyclones develop when the atmospheric conditions around a weak disturbance in the atmosphere are favorable. The background environment is modulated by climatological cycles and patterns such as the Madden-Julian oscillation, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation.

Storm article statistics

Tropical cyclone articles by quality and importance
Quality	Importance
	Top	High	Mid	Low	NA	???	Total
FA	3	14	82	60			159
FL	1	4	30	38			73
FM					21		21
A		3	1				4
GA	10	64	406	662			1,142
B	9	29	57	62			157
C	12	91	246	262			611
Start	2	62	350	416		3	833
Stub		6	74	96			176
List		2	9	57	559	411	1,038
Category					922		922
Disambig			2	11	55		68
File				7	1		8
Portal	2				202		204
Project					98		98
Redirect		2	6	38	93		139
Template	1		6	27	442		476
Other					2		2
Assessed	40	277	1,269	1,736	2,395	414	6,131
Unassessed			4	4	2	1	11
Total	40	277	1,273	1,740	2,397	415	6,142
WikiWork factors (?)		ω = 10,419			Ω = 3.38

Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Tropical cyclone storm articles by quality statistics

Tropical cyclone season pages by quality
Quality
	Total
Assessed	0
Total	0

Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Tropical meteorology articles by quality statistics