January 2022 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Six tropical storms formed globally in January, which is near normal. However, most of them were weak, so the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE: an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms) was the third lowest since 1981. No tropical cyclones formed in any of the Northern Hemisphere basins during January, which is not unusual. The West Pacific produces tropical storms in less than half of the Januaries, and they are even rarer in the other Northern Hemisphere basins.

The strongest tropical cyclone in January was Major Cyclone Batsirai in the South Indian Ocean. In the span of 48 hours on January 30-February 1, Batsirai both rapidly intensified and rapidly weakened, going from a weak category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale to category 3 and back to a weak category 1 again. It strengthened again in early February. It reached category 4 strength as it passed north of Mauritius and La Réunion before making landfall in Madagascar as a category 3 storm. It was the strongest landfall in Madagascar since Major Cyclone Enawo in 2017, and Batsirai caused widespread flooding, wind damage, and power outages in Madagascar. Despite Batsirai, the South Indian Ocean was still less active than normal both in January and for July-January.

The Australian region had three tropical storms in January, including Cyclone Tiffany which crossed northern Queensland in Australia. The number of tropical storms and cyclones were near or above average for both January and July-January. However, most of these storms have been weak, so the ACE has been below normal. The Southwest Pacific only had one tropical storm in January and has also been less active than normal for January and for July-January.

North Atlantic

No North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2022.

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1851-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries)	3rd (tied with 39 other Januaries)	1 (6 Januarys)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries)	2nd (tied with 40 other Januaries)	1 (1938, 1955, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries)	1st (tied with 41 other Januaries)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.3 (3 in 10 Januaries)	3rd (tied with 39 other Januaries)	6.5 (1955)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1851-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 39 other seasons)	1 (6 seasons)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1938, 1955, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 41 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.3 (3 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 39 other seasons)	6.5 (1955)

East Pacific

No East Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2022.

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1949-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries)	4th (tied with 38 other Januaries)	1 (1989, 1992, 2016)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries)	3rd (tied with 39 other Januaries)	1 (1992, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries)	1st (tied with 41 other Januaries)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.5 (5 in 10 Januaries)	4th (tied with 38 other Januaries)	9.0 (2016)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1949-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	1 (1989, 1992, 2016)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 39 other seasons)	1 (1992, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 41 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	9.0 (2016)

West Pacific

No West Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2022.

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1945-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Januaries)	19th (tied with 23 other Januaries)	2 (1957, 1965, 1978, 1985)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Januaries)	8th (tied with 34 other Januaries)	1 (19 Januarys)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries)	3rd (tied with 39 other Januaries)	1 (8 Januarys)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	1.2	19th (tied with 23 other Januaries)	44.7 (1958)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1945-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 seasons)	19th (tied with 23 other seasons)	2 (1957, 1965, 1978, 1985)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	8th (tied with 34 other seasons)	1 (19 seasons)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 39 other seasons)	1 (8 seasons)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	1.2	19th (tied with 23 other seasons)	44.7 (1958)

North Indian

No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during January 2022.

North Indian Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Januaries)	7th (tied with 35 other Januaries)	1 (7 Januarys)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries)	1st (tied with 41 other Januaries)	0
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Januaries)	1st (tied with 41 other Januaries)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 Januaries)	7th (tied with 35 other Januaries)	1.5 (1986)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	7th (tied with 35 other seasons)	1 (7 seasons)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 41 other seasons)	0
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 41 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	7th (tied with 35 other seasons)	1.5 (1986)

South Indian

January 2022 South Indian Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Ana	TS	January 23Jan 23-24	60 mph	993 mb
Batsirai	4	January 27-February 7Jan 27-Feb 7	145 mph†	932 mb†
†Value occurred in February

South Indian Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	2.6	25th (tied with 9 other Januaries)	6 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.5	21st (tied with 15 other Januaries)	4 (2018)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.8 (8 in 10 Januaries)	6th (tied with 18 other Januaries)	3 (2001)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	11.0	20.9	29th	57.1 (2015)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	5.2	39th (tied with 2 other seasons)	12 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	2.6	32nd (tied with 8 other seasons)	6 (1997)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.5	15th (tied with 16 other seasons)	4 (1997, 2014)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	11.0	39.6	37th	108.3 (1997)

Australia

January 2022 Australia Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Seth	TS	January 1Jan 1	50 mph	992 mb
Tiffany	1	January 9Jan 9-12	75 mph	986 mb
Not_Named	TS	January 31-February 1Jan 31-Feb 1	40 mph	998 mb†
†Value occurred in February

Australia Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	3	2.3	10th (tied with 9 other Januaries)	6 (1986, 2021)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.9 (9 in 10 Januaries)	7th (tied with 17 other Januaries)	3 (5 Januarys)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Januaries)	7th (tied with 35 other Januaries)	2 (1997)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	2.6	9.9	30th	55.9 (1994)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	7	4.3	7th (tied with 4 other seasons)	11 (1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	1.8	10th (tied with 8 other seasons)	6 (1996)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.6 (6 in 10 seasons)	18th (tied with 24 other seasons)	2 (1997, 2014)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	5.7	20.4	36th	62.0 (1997)

Southwest Pacific

January 2022 Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Cody	TS	January 10Jan 10-14	60 mph	980 mb

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	2.0	24th (tied with 14 other Januaries)	6 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	1.1	30th (tied with 12 other Januaries)	4 (1985)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Januaries)	14th (tied with 28 other Januaries)	2 (1985, 1998, 2003, 2008)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	4.1	13.3	25th	75.4 (1998)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	3.1	21st (tied with 9 other seasons)	12 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.8	19th (tied with 13 other seasons)	7 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	21st (tied with 21 other seasons)	3 (1998, 2003, 2008)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	5.5	22.8	27th	103.1 (1998)

Global

January 2022 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Seth	TS	January 1Jan 1	50 mph	992 mb
Tiffany	1	January 9Jan 9-12	75 mph	986 mb
Cody	TS	January 10Jan 10-14	60 mph	980 mb
Ana	TS	January 23Jan 23-24	60 mph	993 mb
Batsirai	4	January 27-February 7Jan 27-Feb 7	145 mph†	932 mb†
Not_Named	TS	January 31-February 1Jan 31-Feb 1	40 mph	998 mb†
†Value occurred in February

Global Tropical Cyclone January Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	6	6.9	24th (tied with 8 other Januaries)	11 (1985, 1986, 1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	3.4	31st (tied with 7 other Januaries)	7 (1997)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.4	15th (tied with 17 other Januaries)	4 (2001)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.6	46.2	39th	122.1 (1998)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	6	6.9	24th (tied with 8 other seasons)	11 (1985, 1986, 1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	3.4	31st (tied with 7 other seasons)	7 (1997)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.4	15th (tied with 17 other seasons)	4 (2001)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.6	46.2	39th	122.1 (1998)

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.