November 2021 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Global tropical cyclone activity remained quiet in November. Six named storms were active in November, which is near normal. However, there are typically around four hurricanes and two major hurricanes, but this November had none of either. The global ACE for November was the lowest on record since 1981. The 87 named storms for January-November 2021 remains near normal, but the 33 tropical cyclones and 14 major tropical cyclones are both at least tied for the fewest since 1981.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially ended November 30. The 21st and final named storm was Tropical Storm Wanda, which formed on October 31 and continued into the first week of November. Wanda developed from the remnants of a strong nor'easter that created significant wind and rain along the East Coast, but the subsequent tropical system remained over the ocean with minimal impacts. This one named storm in November was near normal. For the season as a whole, the 21 named storms was the third most on record behind 2020 (30) and 2005 (27). The seven hurricanes and four major hurricanes were both near normal. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE: an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms) was above normal for 2021.

The East Pacific had two named storms both of which were active November 7-8. There is typically a named storm once every 2-3 Novembers, but this is the fourth year in a row with at least one. In addition, Sandra and Terry were active simultaneously, which is the first time this has occurred during November. Overall, the 2021 East Pacific hurricane season activity was mixed. The 20 named storms were above normal, the eight hurricanes were near normal, and the two major hurricanes were below normal. The ACE was also below normal for 2021.

The West Pacific continued to be particularly quiet in November with only one named storm (normal is around three). Nyatoh formed on November 29 and became a major typhoon in December, but it was only a named storm during November. In the Southern Hemisphere, Tropical Storm Paddy near Australia became the first named storm of the 2021-2022 Southern Hemisphere season.

North Atlantic

November 2021 North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Wanda	TS	October 31-November 7Oct 31-Nov 7	50 mph	987 mb†
†Value occurred in October

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1851-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	1.0 (10 in 10 Novembers)	9th (tied with 18 other Novembers)	4 (1961)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.6 (6 in 10 Novembers)	19th (tied with 22 other Novembers)	3 (2001)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Novembers)	7th (tied with 34 other Novembers)	2 (2020)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	5.0	6.1	16th	71.0 (1932)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1851-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	21	14.3	3rd	30 (2020)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	7	7.2	16th (tied with 6 other seasons)	14 (2005, 2020)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	4	3.2	10th (tied with 3 other seasons)	7 (2005, 2020)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	149.3	122.0	11th	258.6 (1933)

East Pacific

November 2021 East Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Terry	TS	November 7Nov 7-8	40 mph	1006 mb
Sandra	TS	November 7Nov 7-8	40 mph	1006 mb

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1949-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	0.7 (7 in 10 Novembers)	1st (tied with 4 other Novembers)	2 (8 Novembers)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Novembers)	10th (tied with 31 other Novembers)	1 (12 Novembers)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Novembers)	3rd (tied with 38 other Novembers)	1 (2011, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.9	2.5	18th	14.0 (2015)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1949-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	20	16.9	11th (tied with 5 other seasons)	27 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	8	8.8	24th (tied with 4 other seasons)	16 (1990, 1992, 2014, 2015)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	4.6	30th (tied with 7 other seasons)	11 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	94.1	132.6	30th	318.1 (2018)

West Pacific

November 2021 West Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Nyatoh	4	November 29-December 4Nov 29-Dec 4	145 mph‡	933 mb‡
‡Value occurred in December

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1945-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	3.0	36th (tied with 3 other Novembers)	7 (1947)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	1.8	36th (tied with 5 other Novembers)	6 (2019)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	1.0 (10 in 10 Novembers)	28th (tied with 13 other Novembers)	4 (1947, 1952, 1954, 1992)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.8	29.6	39th	130.9 (1954)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1945-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	22	25.2	33rd (tied with 1 other season)	37 (1964)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	8	15.7	40th (tied with 1 other season)	25 (1964, 1971)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	9.0	41st	15 (1957, 1965, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	177.1	287.4	35th	504.5 (1997)

North Indian

No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during November 2021.

North Indian Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	1.6	21st (tied with 16 other Novembers)	4 (1992, 2013)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.7 (7 in 10 Novembers)	21st (tied with 20 other Novembers)	2 (10 Novembers)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Novembers)	10th (tied with 31 other Novembers)	2 (1977, 2015, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.1	6.4	36th (tied with 1 other November)	31.8 (1977)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	4.9	21st (tied with 9 other seasons)	10 (1992)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	1.9	12th (tied with 6 other seasons)	6 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.0	9th (tied with 15 other seasons)	5 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	16.5	21.9	19th	89.7 (2019)

South Indian

No South Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during November 2021.

South Indian Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.0 (10 in 10 Novembers)	28th (tied with 14 other Novembers)	3 (1982)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Novembers)	15th (tied with 27 other Novembers)	2 (1982, 1989, 1997, 2005)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Novembers)	10th (tied with 32 other Novembers)	1 (10 Novembers)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	7.0	28th (tied with 14 other Novembers)	38.5 (1997)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.7	35th (tied with 7 other seasons)	5 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	18th (tied with 24 other seasons)	3 (1982, 1997)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 seasons)	11th (tied with 31 other seasons)	1 (11 seasons)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	8.6	35th (tied with 7 other seasons)	47.4 (1997)

Australia

November 2021 Australia Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Paddy	TS	November 22Nov 22-24	45 mph	988 mb

Australia Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.5 (5 in 10 Novembers)	7th (tied with 11 other Novembers)	3 (1984)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Novembers)	8th (tied with 34 other Novembers)	1 (7 Novembers)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Novembers)	2nd (tied with 40 other Novembers)	1 (2006)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	1.4	1.4	14th	11.8 (2006)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	10th (tied with 10 other seasons)	4 (1984)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	8th (tied with 34 other seasons)	2 (1984)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (2006)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	1.4	1.7	16th	11.8 (2006)

Southwest Pacific

No Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during November 2021.

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Novembers)	12th (tied with 30 other Novembers)	3 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Novembers)	7th (tied with 35 other Novembers)	3 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Novembers)	3rd (tied with 39 other Novembers)	1 (1991, 1998)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	2.0	12th (tied with 30 other Novembers)	17.2 (1998)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1956-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.6 (6 in 10 seasons)	14th (tied with 28 other seasons)	5 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 seasons)	7th (tied with 35 other seasons)	3 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	1 (1991, 1998, 2007)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	2.6	13th (tied with 29 other seasons)	22.0 (1998)

Global

November 2021 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Wanda	TS	October 31-November 7Oct 31-Nov 7	50 mph	987 mb†
Terry	TS	November 7Nov 7-8	40 mph	1006 mb
Sandra	TS	November 7Nov 7-8	40 mph	1006 mb
Paddy	TS	November 22Nov 22-24	45 mph	988 mb
Nyatoh	4	November 29-December 4Nov 29-Dec 4	145 mph‡	933 mb‡
†Value occurred in October
‡Value occurred in December

Global Tropical Cyclone November Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	6	7.6	28th (tied with 6 other Novembers)	12 (2019, 2020)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	4.1	41st	9 (2019)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	1.8	36th (tied with 5 other Novembers)	5 (1992, 2020)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	8.3	54.5	41st	148.7 (1992)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-November 2021

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2021 Rank*	1972-2021 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	87	83.0	15th	98 (2018, 2020)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	33	45.3	41st	57 (1990)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	14	24.2	40th (tied with 1 other season)	38 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	573.2	744.6	34th	1,109.8 (1992)

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.