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Tropical cyclones in 2012

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Tropical cyclones worldwide in 2012
Es204L · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Through Atmospheric pressure, Pascal (unit) and South Korea

The most active basin in the year was the Western Pacific, which documented 25 named systems, while the North Atlantic saw its fifth-most-active season on record, tied with 1887, 1995, 2010, and 2011. Conversely, the Eastern Pacific hurricane season experienced an average number of cyclones reaching tropical storm intensity, numbering 17 respectively. The least-active basin of the year was the North Indian Ocean, which had a late start with its first system forming in October. Activity across the southern hemisphere's three basins—South-West Indian, Australian, and South Pacific—was spread evenly, with each region recording seven named storms apiece. So far, twenty-four Category 3 tropical cyclones formed, including three Category 5 tropical cyclones in the year. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2012 (seven basins combined), as calculated by Colorado State University was 740.5 units.

The strongest tropical cyclone was Typhoon Sanba, which strengthened to a minimum barometric pressure of 900 mbar (hPa; 26.58 inHg) before striking South Korea. The costliest tropical cyclone of the year was Hurricane Sandy, which caused $68.7 billion (2012 USD) in damages after striking the Caribbean and United States. The deadliest tropical cyclone of the year was Typhoon Bopha which caused widespread destruction on Mindanao, leaving thousands of people homeless and killing 1,901 people.

Global atmospheric and hydrological conditions

The Atlantic Ocean began an organization favorable to the sea surface temperatures, while the Eastern and Central Pacific Ocean began on unfavorable conditions due to dissipation of the 2010–12 La Niña event in April 2012. During the month of May to November along the Pacific hurricane season a favorable organization began due to the sea surface temperatures and the formation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation.

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