March 2022 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Nine named storms were active globally during March, which was tied with two other years for the second most on record. However, only three of these reached tropical cyclone strength (74 mph), which was below normal. There were two major tropical cyclones (>111 mph), which was near normal, but the global accumulated cyclone energy (ACE: an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms) was below normal.

The first Northern Hemisphere named storm of 2022 formed over the North Indian Ocean on March 4. It was a short-lived unnamed tropical storm. The lack of activity in the West Pacific in 2022 is beginning to be unusual. Only 12 of the last 41 years did not have any West Pacific storms during January-March.

The South Indian Ocean was again the most active basin during March. It contributed both of the major tropical cyclones that were observed globally in March: Gombe and Halima. Gombe formed near Madagascar, which had been hit by three storms in February. Fortunately, Gombe's impacts were minor there, but it went on to make landfall near the same part of Mozambique as Tropical Storms Ana just six weeks earlier.

The Australian region experienced four named storms in March, which was tied with eight other years for the third most on record. However, only one of these, Cyclone Charlotte, achieved tropical cyclone strength. As a result, all other metrics were below normal in March. The Southwest Pacific only had one short-lived unnamed tropical storm, which is also below normal.

North Atlantic

No North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones occurred during March 2022.

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1851-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	1 (1908)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	1 (1908)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	5.8 (1908)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 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 (8 seasons)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1908, 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 March 2022.

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1949-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	2nd (tied with 40 other Marches)	1 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	0
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	2nd (tied with 40 other Marches)	0.6 (1992)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 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)	2 (1992)
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)	2nd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1992)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	13.9 (1992)

West Pacific

No West Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during March 2022.

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1945-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Marches)	16th (tied with 26 other Marches)	3 (1982)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Marches)	9th (tied with 33 other Marches)	1 (15 Marchs)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Marches)	6th (tied with 36 other Marches)	1 (9 Marchs)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	3.1	16th (tied with 26 other Marches)	30.2 (2002)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1945-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.1	30th (tied with 12 other seasons)	5 (1965)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 seasons)	16th (tied with 26 other seasons)	3 (2015)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	9th (tied with 33 other seasons)	2 (1953, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	5.8	30th (tied with 12 other seasons)	44.7 (1958)

North Indian

March 2022 North Indian Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Not_Named	TS	March 4Mar 4-5	40 mph	996 mb

North Indian Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 1 other March)	1 (1994, 2022)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	0
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 41 other Marches)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.5	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	2nd	0.8 (1994)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 9 other seasons)	1 (11 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	0.5	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	9th	1.8 (1987)

South Indian

March 2022 South Indian Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Vernon	4	February 25-March 3Feb 25-Mar 3	130 mph†	946 mb†
Gombe	3	March 8Mar 8-12	115 mph	959 mb
Halima	4	March 23-April 1Mar 23-Apr 1	135 mph	938 mb
†Value occurred in February

South Indian Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	3	2.2	4th (tied with 13 other Marches)	5 (1994)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	1.4	5th (tied with 11 other Marches)	4 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	0.8 (8 in 10 Marches)	2nd (tied with 8 other Marches)	3 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	22.3	19.1	14th	71.2 (1994)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-March 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	8	9.2	26th (tied with 6 other seasons)	15 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	5	5.2	19th (tied with 7 other seasons)	9 (1989, 1994, 1997, 2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	5	3.1	3rd (tied with 3 other seasons)	8 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	86.5	81.4	18th	161.4 (1994)

Australia

March 2022 Australia Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Anika	TS	February 25-March 2Feb 25-Mar 2	60 mph†	988 mb†
Not_Named	TS	March 2Mar 2	40 mph	1001 mb
Billy	TS	March 13Mar 13-17	70 mph	989 mb
Charlotte	2	March 20Mar 20-24	100 mph	967 mb
†Value occurred in February

Australia Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	2.5	3rd (tied with 8 other Marches)	5 (1999, 2004)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.5	18th (tied with 16 other Marches)	4 (2006)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	1.0	26th (tied with 16 other Marches)	3 (1999, 2004, 2006, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	10.5	19.5	26th	54.8 (2005)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-March 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	11	8.8	9th (tied with 3 other seasons)	17 (1984, 1999)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	4.0	16th (tied with 4 other seasons)	8 (1996)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	2.0	23rd (tied with 14 other seasons)	4 (1992, 1999, 2006, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	21.6	48.9	35th	98.4 (1999)

Southwest Pacific

March 2022 Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Not_Named	TS	March 3Mar 3-4	45 mph	987 mb

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	1.7	25th (tied with 12 other Marches)	4 (1980, 1983, 1992)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.9 (9 in 10 Marches)	28th (tied with 14 other Marches)	4 (1983)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Marches)	18th (tied with 24 other Marches)	2 (1983, 1992, 2003, 2010)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.8	11.2	36th	44.0 (1992)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-March 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	6.3	33rd (tied with 4 other seasons)	15 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	3.5	24th (tied with 10 other seasons)	11 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	1.9	33rd (tied with 9 other seasons)	6 (2003)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	13.3	47.3	37th	127.2 (1992)

Global

March 2022 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Vernon	4	February 25-March 3Feb 25-Mar 3	130 mph†	946 mb†
Anika	TS	February 25-March 2Feb 25-Mar 2	60 mph†	988 mb†
Not_Named	TS	March 2Mar 2	40 mph	1001 mb
Not_Named	TS	March 3Mar 3-4	45 mph	987 mb
Not_Named	TS	March 4Mar 4-5	40 mph	996 mb
Gombe	3	March 8Mar 8-12	115 mph	959 mb
Billy	TS	March 13Mar 13-17	70 mph	989 mb
Charlotte	2	March 20Mar 20-24	100 mph	967 mb
Halima	4	March 23-April 1Mar 23-Apr 1	135 mph	938 mb
†Value occurred in February

Global Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	9	6.1	2nd (tied with 2 other Marches)	10 (1994)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	3	3.7	22nd (tied with 12 other Marches)	7 (2007, 2019)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	2.4	18th (tied with 9 other Marches)	6 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	34.1	52.9	31st	116.0 (2019)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	19	18.0	14th (tied with 7 other seasons)	27 (1986)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	8	9.7	30th (tied with 6 other seasons)	14 (1994)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	5	5.4	14th (tied with 11 other seasons)	10 (1994, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	114.8	146.0	28th	264.0 (1994)

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.