December 2023 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Three named storms occurred across the globe in December, which was below the 1991-2020 average of six. One of those reached tropical cyclone strength (≥74 mph), and one reached major tropical cyclone strength (≥111 mph). The global accumulated cyclone energy (ACE: an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms) was about 45% of the 1991-2020 average for December.

The only major tropical cyclone was Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasper in the Australian region. On average, a major tropical cyclone occurs near Australia in about 4 out 10 Decembers. Jasper peaked with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph and a minimum central pressure of 937 mb. Jasper produced substantial and potentially record-breaking rainfall in Northern Queensland, Australia after making landfall as a tropical storm strength system. These rains led to significant damage across parts of Northern Queensland.

Only two other tropical cyclones formed globally during the month of December, both of which did not reach tropical cyclone strength (≥74 mph). Cyclonic Storm Michaung caused heavy rain and strong winds in southeastern India. This activity was typical for the North Indian Ocean. Tropical Storm Jelawat in the West Pacific, which peaked as a low-end TS with winds of 40 mph and is quieter than normal for that basin.

No storms were active in the North Atlantic, East Pacific, or elsewhere in the southern hemisphere. This is just the fourth time since 1981 that no storms have been active in the South Indian Ocean during July-December. However, the lack of activity is more typical for the other basins.

North Atlantic

No North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones occurred during December 2023.

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1851-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Decembers)	10th (tied with 33 other Decembers)	3 (1887)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Decembers)	4th (tied with 39 other Decembers)	1 (7 Decembers)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Decembers)	1st (tied with 42 other Decembers)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.8 (8 in 10 Decembers)	10th (tied with 33 other Decembers)	16.2 (1984)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1851-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	20	14.4	4th	30 (2020)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	7	7.2	17th (tied with 7 other seasons)	15 (2005)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	3.2	14th (tied with 7 other seasons)	7 (2005, 2020)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	144.1	122.5	13th	258.6 (1933)

East Pacific

No East Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during December 2023.

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1949-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Decembers)	4th (tied with 39 other Decembers)	1 (5 Decembers)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Decembers)	2nd (tied with 41 other Decembers)	1 (1957, 1983)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Decembers)	1st (tied with 42 other Decembers)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 Decembers)	4th (tied with 39 other Decembers)	11.7 (1957)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1949-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	17	17.0	23rd (tied with 4 other seasons)	27 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	10	8.8	14th (tied with 5 other seasons)	16 (1990, 1992, 2014, 2015)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	8	4.6	6th (tied with 2 other seasons)	11 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	166.3	132.8	14th	318.1 (2018)

West Pacific

December 2023 West Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Jelawat	TS	December 17Dec 17	40 mph	1002 mb

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1945-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	1.4	23rd (tied with 14 other Decembers)	4 (1952, 1986, 2001)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.8 (8 in 10 Decembers)	29th (tied with 14 other Decembers)	3 (1986)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Decembers)	21st (tied with 22 other Decembers)	2 (8 Decembers)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.1	13.7	37th	72.1 (1959)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1945-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	17	26.0	41st	38 (1964)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	12	16.1	34th (tied with 4 other seasons)	26 (1964)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	8	9.4	23rd (tied with 5 other seasons)	16 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	268.2	299.8	25th	588.3 (1997)

North Indian

December 2023 North Indian Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Michaung	TS	December 3Dec 3-5	70 mph	987 mb

North Indian Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.9 (9 in 10 Decembers)	9th (tied with 20 other Decembers)	3 (2005)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Decembers)	11th (tied with 32 other Decembers)	1 (10 Decembers)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Decembers)	2nd (tied with 41 other Decembers)	1 (2017)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	2.3	2.8	17th	11.0 (2017)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	8	5.4	3rd (tied with 3 other seasons)	11 (1992)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	2.1	3rd (tied with 4 other seasons)	6 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	1.1	2nd (tied with 1 other season)	5 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	56.0	24.6	2nd	93.0 (2019)

South Indian

No South Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during December 2023.

South Indian Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.4	32nd (tied with 12 other Decembers)	4 (1980)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.7 (7 in 10 Decembers)	23rd (tied with 21 other Decembers)	3 (2014, 2020)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Decembers)	14th (tied with 30 other Decembers)	3 (2014)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	10.1	32nd (tied with 12 other Decembers)	54.9 (2014)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	3.0	40th (tied with 4 other seasons)	6 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	1.2	30th (tied with 14 other seasons)	3 (6 seasons)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	19th (tied with 25 other seasons)	3 (2014, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	18.7	40th (tied with 4 other seasons)	71.2 (1997)

Australia

December 2023 Australia Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Jasper	4	December 5Dec 5-14	135 mph	937 mb

Australia Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	1.5	20th (tied with 13 other Decembers)	4 (1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.8 (8 in 10 Decembers)	6th (tied with 17 other Decembers)	2 (6 Decembers)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.4 (4 in 10 Decembers)	2nd (tied with 10 other Decembers)	2 (2014)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.6	8.8	6th	33.7 (1999)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	2.2	27th (tied with 8 other seasons)	7 (1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.9 (9 in 10 seasons)	8th (tied with 19 other seasons)	3 (1996, 1999)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.4 (4 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 11 other seasons)	2 (2014)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.6	10.5	6th	42.6 (1999)

Southwest Pacific

No Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during December 2023.

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.7 (7 in 10 Decembers)	23rd (tied with 21 other Decembers)	3 (5 Decembers)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Decembers)	16th (tied with 28 other Decembers)	2 (1987, 1992, 2013)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Decembers)	8th (tied with 36 other Decembers)	2 (1992, 2013)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	6.3	23rd (tied with 21 other Decembers)	47.1 (1992)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	1.3	9th (tied with 7 other seasons)	6 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	0.7 (7 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 5 other seasons)	4 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.4 (4 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 8 other seasons)	2 (1992, 2013)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.0	8.5	8th	47.2 (1992)

Global

December 2023 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Michaung	TS	December 3Dec 3-5	70 mph	987 mb
Jasper	4	December 5Dec 5-14	135 mph	937 mb
Jelawat	TS	December 17Dec 17	40 mph	1002 mb

Global Tropical Cyclone December Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	3	6.0	39th (tied with 4 other Decembers)	10 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	3.0	36th (tied with 7 other Decembers)	6 (1991, 1998, 2019)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.6	16th (tied with 21 other Decembers)	4 (1991, 2012, 2013, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	20.0	43.5	38th	88.7 (2012)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-December 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	78	87.5	34th (tied with 4 other seasons)	106 (2020)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	45	47.6	24th (tied with 3 other seasons)	59 (1990, 2018)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	30	25.6	6th (tied with 1 other season)	39 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	853.6	784.3	11th	1,148.5 (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.