Tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons, are among the most damaging natural hazards. The human impacts can be considerable, and the damages left in the wake of the most severe storms can run into the billions of dollars.
The Department of Meteorology’s Tropical Cyclone Group (MetTC) exploits numerous scientific tools and datasets to better understand tropical cyclones and the risks the pose—now and in the future. Our members are investigating how and why the frequency of these storms varies from year to year and on longer timescales; what factors control how quickly storms intensify and where they make landfall; the small-scale meteorological processes that operate within tropical cyclones; how tropical cyclones contribute to climate variability; and how well state-of-the-art climate models are able to simulate these weather events.