June 2021 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Both the Atlantic and the East Pacific had unusually active starts to their hurricane seasons. The Atlantic tied a record with three named storms in June. The total of four named storms for the year through June ties 2012, 2016, and 2020 for the most on record. Similarly, the East Pacific had four named storms in June, which tied for the 4th most on record. The total of five for the year through June tied a record as well. The early season activity in both basins in particularly noteworthy because it is unusual for them to be active at the same time.

Most of the storms in the Atlantic and East Pacific were weak and short-lived. Hurricane Enrique in the East Pacific was the only storm in either basin to reach hurricane strength or last more than 48 hours as a named storm. As a result, the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE; a measure of the strength, duration, and frequency of tropical cyclones) has been near-normal in both basins. Tropical Storm Claudette was arguably the most impactful tropical cyclone in June as it brought heavy rain, wind, and tornadoes across the southeast.

Outside of the Western Hemisphere, tropical cyclone activity was relatively quiet. The West Pacific had two named storms, including Typhoon Champi, which was near normal. However, the ACE was only about one-third of normal in June and one-fourth of normal for the year to date. No storms formed in any of the other basins in June, which is not unusual. Even so, the nine named storms that formed globally during June fell one short of the record of 10 that formed in June of 1997 and 2018. Enrique and Champi were the only hurricane strength storms, so the ACE was still below normal.

North Atlantic

June 2021 North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Bill	TS	June 14Jun 14-15	60 mph	998 mb
Claudette	TS	June 19Jun 19-22	45 mph	1004 mb
Danny	TS	June 28Jun 28-29	40 mph	1011 mb

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1851-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	3	0.9 (9 in 10 Junes)	1st (tied with 1 other June)	3 (6 Junes)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Junes)	6th (tied with 35 other Junes)	3 (1886)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	1st (tied with 40 other Junes)	1 (1957, 1966)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	2.4	1.5	11th	20.6 (1886)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1851-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	1.3	1st (tied with 3 other seasons)	4 (2012, 2016, 2020, 2021)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	7th (tied with 34 other seasons)	3 (1886)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1957, 1966)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	3.3	2.4	11th	21.6 (1951)

East Pacific

June 2021 East Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Blanca	TS	May 31-June 2May 31-Jun 2	60 mph	998 mb
Carlos	TS	June 13Jun 13-14	50 mph	1000 mb
Dolores	TS	June 18Jun 18-19	70 mph	990 mb
Enrique	1	June 25Jun 25-30	90 mph	975 mb

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1949-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	2.1	4th (tied with 3 other Junes)	5 (1985, 1997, 2018)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.9 (9 in 10 Junes)	11th (tied with 16 other Junes)	3 (1984, 2015)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Junes)	14th (tied with 27 other Junes)	2 (5 Junes)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	11.6	10.6	15th	40.8 (2015)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1949-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	5	2.7	1st (tied with 7 other seasons)	5 (8 seasons)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.2	18th (tied with 13 other seasons)	4 (1984)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.6 (6 in 10 seasons)	17th (tied with 24 other seasons)	2 (7 seasons)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	12.3	14.5	17th	49.8 (2015)

West Pacific

June 2021 West Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Choi-Wan	TS	May 30-June 5May 30-Jun 5	60 mph†	986 mb†
Koguma	TS	June 12Jun 12	40 mph	996 mb
Champi	1	June 23Jun 23-27	75 mph	987 mb
†Value occurred in May

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1945-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	3	1.8	7th (tied with 4 other Junes)	5 (2004, 2018)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.8 (8 in 10 Junes)	10th (tied with 12 other Junes)	5 (2004)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Junes)	15th (tied with 26 other Junes)	3 (2004)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	6.0	12.2	24th	82.5 (2004)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1945-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	6	4.6	8th (tied with 7 other seasons)	11 (1965, 1971, 2004)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	2.1	20th (tied with 5 other seasons)	7 (2004)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.4	16th (tied with 14 other seasons)	5 (2004)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	51.9	38.8	9th	164.7 (2004)

North Indian

No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during June 2021.

North Indian Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.6 (6 in 10 Junes)	19th (tied with 22 other Junes)	3 (1996, 2007)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Junes)	7th (tied with 34 other Junes)	1 (6 Junes)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Junes)	5th (tied with 36 other Junes)	1 (1998, 2007, 2010, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	2.8	19th (tied with 22 other Junes)	21.5 (2007)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	1.8	11th (tied with 12 other seasons)	4 (1996, 2007)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 5 other seasons)	2 (7 seasons)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 14 other seasons)	2 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	13.9	9.7	12th	38.0 (2019)

South Indian

No South Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during June 2021.

South Indian Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Junes)	4th (tied with 37 other Junes)	1 (1991, 2001, 2012)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	2nd (tied with 39 other Junes)	1 (2001)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	1st (tied with 40 other Junes)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 Junes)	4th (tied with 37 other Junes)	1.9 (2001)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2020-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	12	10.5	8th (tied with 3 other seasons)	16 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	5	6.1	25th (tied with 5 other seasons)	11 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	3.4	27th (tied with 8 other seasons)	9 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	99.3	94.1	17th	186.9 (1994)

Australia

No Australia Tropical Cyclones occurred during June 2021.

Australia Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Junes)	3rd (tied with 38 other Junes)	1 (1958, 2012, 2015)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	1st (tied with 40 other Junes)	0
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	1st (tied with 40 other Junes)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	2nd (tied with 39 other Junes)	0.8 (1958)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2020-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	10	10.4	24th (tied with 2 other seasons)	19 (1999)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	3	4.8	27th (tied with 10 other seasons)	9 (1992, 1996)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	2.4	16th (tied with 8 other seasons)	6 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	32.0	59.5	33rd	111.3 (1999)

Southwest Pacific

No Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during June 2021.

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Junes)	4th (tied with 37 other Junes)	1 (1972, 1997, 2003, 2015)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Junes)	3rd (tied with 38 other Junes)	1 (1997, 2003)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Junes)	2nd (tied with 39 other Junes)	1 (1997)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.6 (6 in 10 Junes)	4th (tied with 37 other Junes)	11.4 (1997)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2020-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	9	7.0	12th (tied with 1 other season)	17 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	3.8	14th (tied with 4 other seasons)	11 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	1.9	14th (tied with 5 other seasons)	6 (2003)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	41.4	50.5	21st	139.9 (1998)

Global

June 2021 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Choi-Wan	TS	May 30-June 5May 30-Jun 5	60 mph†	986 mb†
Blanca	TS	May 31-June 2May 31-Jun 2	60 mph	998 mb
Koguma	TS	June 12Jun 12	40 mph	996 mb
Carlos	TS	June 13Jun 13-14	50 mph	1000 mb
Bill	TS	June 14Jun 14-15	60 mph	998 mb
Dolores	TS	June 18Jun 18-19	70 mph	990 mb
Claudette	TS	June 19Jun 19-22	45 mph	1004 mb
Champi	1	June 23Jun 23-27	75 mph	987 mb
Enrique	1	June 25Jun 25-30	90 mph	975 mb
Danny	TS	June 28Jun 28-29	40 mph	1011 mb
†Value occurred in May

Global Tropical Cyclone June Counts

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	10	5.5	1st (tied with 2 other Junes)	10 (1997, 2018, 2021)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	2.0	15th (tied with 13 other Junes)	5 (1997, 2004)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	1.1	27th (tied with 14 other Junes)	3 (2004, 2010)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	20.1	28.0	22nd	82.5 (2004)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-June 2021

Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	37	30.0	4th (tied with 2 other seasons)	42 (1986)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	13	15.1	27th (tied with 7 other seasons)	22 (1989, 1997)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	6	8.4	24th (tied with 8 other seasons)	14 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	216.2	231.0	22nd	380.6 (1997)

Data Description

The data in this report are derived from NCEI's IBTrACS dataset (Knapp et al. 2010; Schreck et al. 2014). IBTrACS tropical cyclone track and intensity data from agencies and sources around the globe. In this report, data from NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) are used for the North Atlantic and East Pacific. The other basins use data from the U.S. Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

Historical values use the "best track" data that have been analyzed by forecasters after the season using all available data. Operational procedures and observing systems have changed with time and between regions, which makes these data heterogeneous. Intensity data are generally the most reliable since the early 1970s in the Atlantic (Landsea and Franklin 2013) and since the mid-1980s in other regions (Chu et al. 2002). The number of short-lived storms (≤2 days) has also increased since around 2000 due to improvements in observations and analysis techniques (Landsea et al. 2010).

Values for the current year are provisional values from the operational forecast advisories. IBTrACS obtains these from NCEP's TC Vitals, the NCAR Tropical Cyclone Guidance Project, and NHC provisional data. These values are subject to change during the post-season best track analysis. They also only include 6-hourly storm fixes, which means they may miss special advisories at landfall, peak intensity, etc.

The tropical cyclone seasons in the Southern Hemisphere begin in July and end in June, while the Northern Hemisphere seasons are counted from January to December. Storms are counted in all basins, months, and years in which they occur, which means some storms may appear more than once. However, the global totals only include each storm one time.

References

• Chu, J.-H., C. R. Sampson, A. S. Levine, and E. Fukada, 2002: The joint typhoon warning center tropical cyclone best-tracks, 1945–2000. Naval Research Laboratory, Reference Number NRL/MR/7540-02-16, 22 pp., https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/best-tracks/tc-bt-report.html.
• Knapp, K. R., M. C. Kruk, D. H. Levinson, H. J. Diamond, and C. J. Neumann, 2010: The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 363–376, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1.
• Landsea, C. W., and J. L. Franklin, 2013: Atlantic Hurricane database uncertainty and presentation of a new database format. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3576–3592, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-12-00254.1.
• ——, G. A. Vecchi, L. Bengtsson, and T. R. Knutson, 2010: Impact of duration thresholds on Atlantic tropical cyclone counts. J. Climate, 23, 2508–2519, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI3034.1.
• Schreck, C. J., K. R. Knapp, and J. P. Kossin, 2014: The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-14-00021.1.