During 2001, tropical cyclones formed in seven different areas called basins, located within various parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. A total of 128 tropical cyclones formed within bodies of water known as tropical cyclone basins, with 83 of them were further named by the responsible weather agencies when they attained maximum sustained winds of 35 knots (65km/h; 40mph). Typhoon Faxai is the strongest tropical cyclone throughout the year, peaking with a pressure of 915hPa (27.02inHg) and attaining 10-minute sustained winds of 195km/h (120mph). The deadliest tropical cyclone of the year was Lingling in the West Pacific which caused 379 fatalities in total as it struck the Philippines and Vietnam, while the costliest storm of the year was Michelle, with a damage cost of around $2.43 billion as it catastrophically affected the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas in late October. So far, 23 Category 3 tropical cyclones formed, including two Category 5 tropical cyclones formed in the year. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2001 (seven basins combined), as calculated by Colorado State University was 672.4 units.
La Niña is a weather pattern that occurs every few years, as a result of complex variations on the ocean temperatures in the equatorial band of the Pacific Ocean.[1] The 1998–2001 La Niña persisted through early 2001, which made the waters of Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean warmer than normal.
In January, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which allows for the formation of tropical waves, is located in the Southern Hemisphere, remaining there until May.[2] This limits Northern Hemisphere cyclone formation to comparatively rare non-tropical sources.[3] In addition, the month's climate is also an important factor. In the Southern Hemisphere basins, January, at the height of the austral summer, is the most active month by cumulative number of storms since records began. Of the four Northern Hemisphere basins, none is very active in January, as the month is during the winter, but the most active basin is the Western Pacific, which occasionally sees weak tropical storms form during the month.[4] January was very inactive despite this, with only five storms forming, three getting named, all in the southern hemisphere. In the Australian basin, Cyclone Terri affected Western Australia, but caused no damage. The rest of the activity was confined to the Southwestern Indian Ocean, with two unnamed tropical depressions, and cyclones Bindu and Charly forming, with the latter being the most intense tropical cyclone this month. Two storms, Typhoon Soulik, and Cyclone Ando have also formed in December of 2000, and persisted into 2001.
In terms of activity, February is normally similar to January, with activity effectively restricted to the Southern Hemisphere excepting the rare Western Pacific storm. In fact, in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the monsoon being at its height,[4] February tends to see more formation of strong tropical cyclones than January despite seeing marginally fewer overall storms. In the Northern Hemisphere, February is the least active month, with no Eastern or Central Pacific tropical cyclones[8] and only one Atlantic tropical cyclone having ever formed in the month.[9] Even in the Western Pacific, February activity is low: in 1992, the month had never seen a typhoon-strength storm, the first being Typhoon Higos in 2015. Within February, ten storms have formed, of which seven were officially named, with another storm, Auring, receiving a name that is deemed unofficial outside of the Philippines. No storms formed within the Southwestern Indian Ocean this month. In the Australian basin, cyclones Vincent, Winsome, Wylva, and Abigail formed, all of which affected landmasses, but most remained relatively weak. In the South Pacific, cyclones Oma, Paula, the strongest storm this month, and Rita formed, with Oma and Paula affecting landmasses.
During March, activity tends to be lower than in preceding months. In the Southern Hemisphere, the peak of the season has normally already passed, and the monsoon has begun to weaken, decreasing cyclonic activity, however, the month often sees more intense tropical cyclones than January or February. Meanwhile, in the Northern Hemisphere basins, sea surface temperatures are still far too low to normally support tropical cyclogenesis. The exception is the Western Pacific, which usually sees its first storm, often a weak depression, at some point between January and April. March of 2001 was an example of this phenomenon, with only three storms forming, and only one, Cyclone Dera, getting named. Thusly, Cyclone Dera is also the strongest storm this month, both in terms of maximum sustained winds and minimum barometric pressure.
The factors that begin to inhibit Southern Hemisphere cyclone formation in March are even more pronounced in April, with the average number of storms formed being hardly half that of March.[4][13] However, even this limited activity exceeds the activity in the Northern Hemisphere, which is rare, with the exception of the Western Pacific basin. All Pacific typhoon seasons between 1998 and 2016 saw activity between January and April, although many of these seasons saw only weak tropical depressions.[14] By contrast, only two Atlantic hurricane seasons during those years saw tropical cyclone formation during that period.[9] With the combination of the decreasing temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere and the still-low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, April and May tend to be the least active months worldwide for tropical cyclone formation.[13] April was a near-average month, with six storms forming, four getting named, all in the southern hemisphere. Although another system, 02W (Barok), received a name that is deemed unofficial outside of the Philippines. In the Australian basin, Walter and Alistair formed, with the former being the strongest storm this month. Walter impacted the Cocos Islands, while Alistair impacted Australia. The Southwest Indian Ocean featured Tropical Storm Evariste, which struck St. Brandon and Rodrigues. Ιn the southern pacific, Cyclone Sose impacted a handful of nations within six days, although damage was mostly minor.
Around the middle of May, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which allows for the formation of tropical waves and has previously remained in the Southern Hemisphere for the first five months of the year, moves to the Northern Hemisphere, allowing the northern cyclone seasons to start in earnest.[2] Without the presence of the ITCZ, Southern Hemisphere cyclones must form from non-wave sources, which are rarer.[3] For that reason, cyclone formation is relatively sparse, with May tending to be the month of the final storm in each of the three basins. Meanwhile, more intense storms are nearly unheard of, with the South-West Indian Ocean having seen only one intense tropical cyclone and no very intense tropical cyclones in the month, and the other two basins having similar levels of activity in May. In the Northern Hemisphere, May is the first month most basins see activity, due to the new presence of the ITCZ. The Pacific hurricane season begins on May 15, and although the Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1, off-season storms are very common, with over half of the 21st century seasons seeing a storm form in May.[15] Although the North Indian Ocean has no official start or end date, due to the monsoon, mid-May is the beginning of a month-long period of high activity in the basin. Even in the Western Pacific, activity tends to increase throughout May. May saw six named storms, and two getting named, both in the Pacific, making May an inactive month. In the Eastern Pacific, Hurricane Adolph formed, which was one of two Category 4 hurricanes in the basin in May. Adolph breifly threatened Mexico before moving away. In the Western Pacific, Tropical Storm Cimaron(or Tropical Storm Crising) formed, which caused minor damage in the Philippines and Taiwan. Another notable storm was the 2001 Gujarat cyclone in the North Indian Ocean, which killed at least 120 people in western India.
12The wind speeds for this tropical cyclone/basin are based on the Saffir Simpson Scale which uses 1-minute sustained winds.
1234Only systems that formed either before or on December 31, 2001 are counted in the seasonal totals.
↑The wind speeds for this tropical cyclone/basin are based on the IMD Scale which uses 3-minute sustained winds.
123Only systems that formed either on or after January 1, 2001 are counted in the seasonal totals.
↑The wind speeds for this tropical cyclone are based on Météo-France, which uses wind gusts.
↑The sum of the number of systems in each basin will not equal the number shown as the total. This is because when systems move between basins, it creates a discrepancy in the actual number of systems.
↑Dorst, Neal (June 2, 2016). "TCFAQ G1) When is hurricane season?". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
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