Global Tropical Cyclone Live Tracks

TyphoonSays Global Cyclones brings together the US National Hurricane Center (NHC/CPHC), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and this site's Northwest Pacific data on one world map: live tracks, official forecast tracks, intensity trends and replay for every basin. For Northwest Pacific typhoons see the TyphoonSays home page.

Active cyclones now (5)

What is the difference between a typhoon, a hurricane and a cyclone?

They are the same weather system — a tropical cyclone — named differently by basin: typhoon in the Northwest Pacific and South China Sea, hurricane in the North Atlantic, East Pacific and Central Pacific, cyclonic storm in the North Indian Ocean, and tropical cyclone in the South Indian Ocean and South Pacific. Formation, structure and hazards are identical; only the naming agency, intensity scale and wind-averaging period differ.

Official agencies and naming by basin

• Northwest Pacific: China Meteorological Administration (CMA), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA, RSMC Tokyo) and the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Names come from a rotating list of 140 contributed by the 14 Typhoon Committee members; numbering such as 202624 means the 24th typhoon of 2026.
• North Atlantic / East Pacific: US National Hurricane Center (NHC). ATCF IDs are AL / EP + two-digit sequence + year (e.g. EP132026); names follow pre-set annual alphabetical lists.
• Central Pacific: Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC, Honolulu), ID prefix CP; East Pacific systems crossing 140°W keep their original ID.
• North Indian Ocean: India Meteorological Department (IMD, RSMC New Delhi); JTWC issues parallel products with the IO prefix.
• Southern Hemisphere: Météo-France La Réunion (Southwest Indian Ocean), the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the Fiji Meteorological Service and others; JTWC prefix SH. Southern Hemisphere cyclones rotate clockwise and the season runs November to April.

Saffir-Simpson scale vs. China typhoon scale

Note: the two scales use different averaging periods (1-minute winds are typically 5–10% higher than 2-minute winds), so the mapping is approximate and a hurricane category cannot be converted exactly into a typhoon grade. Map colours follow each agency's raw wind range; the info card keeps the agency's original classification.

Why are global cyclones not ranked together with Northwest Pacific typhoons?

Because the wind-averaging periods differ (NHC/JTWC 1-minute, China 2-minute, Japan 10-minute), ranking raw wind speeds across agencies produces misleading "strongest in the world" claims. TyphoonSays keeps each agency's original scale and classification and only converts units (knots → m/s), never scales.

Data sources and updates

Global cyclone data comes from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC/CPHC) CurrentStorms list, ATCF best tracks and forecast advisories, and from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) RSS and TCW track products; Northwest Pacific systems prefer this site's existing CMA / Zhejiang Water Resources data. Sources are checked on demand every 15 minutes and the page refreshes every 5 minutes; if an upstream fetch fails, the last successful data is kept and flagged "awaiting update".

This page is for reference only. For disaster preparedness, always follow the latest bulletins from your national or regional meteorological service.

FAQ

What is the difference between a typhoon, a hurricane and a cyclone?

They are the same weather system named differently by basin: typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, hurricanes in the North Atlantic and East Pacific, cyclonic storms in the North Indian Ocean and tropical cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere. Formation and hazards are identical; only the naming agency, intensity scale and wind-averaging period differ.

What typhoon category equals a Category 5 hurricane?

Category 5 means 1-minute sustained winds of 137 kt (about 70 m/s) or more, roughly a Super Typhoon on the China scale (2-minute winds ≥51 m/s). Because the averaging periods differ, the two scales cannot be converted exactly.

Where does the data come from and how often is it updated?

From official products of the US National Hurricane Center (NHC/CPHC) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC); Northwest Pacific systems use CMA data already on this site. Sources are checked every 15 minutes and the page refreshes every 5 minutes.

Why are global cyclones not ranked together with Northwest Pacific typhoons?

NHC/JTWC use 1-minute sustained winds, China uses 2-minute and Japan 10-minute. Comparing wind speeds across averaging periods gives misleading results, so TyphoonSays converts units only, never scales.