Printer Friendly Version

Back to Tropical Cyclones Records Page | Back to Main FAQ Page

Subject: E5) Which are the largest and smallest tropical cyclones on record?

Contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC)
Updated by Neal Dorst (HRD)

Typhoon Tip had gale force winds (17 m/s [34 kt, 39 mph]) which extended out for 1100 km [675 mi]in radius in the Northwest Pacific on 12 October, 1979 (Dunnavan and Diercks 1980).

Tropical Storm Marco (2008) had gale force wind that only extended out 19 km [12 miles] from its center of circulation (NHC Tropical Cyclone Report). That beats the old record holder, Tropical Cyclone Tracy which had gale force winds extending 50 km [30 mi] from its eye when it struck Darwin, Australia, on 24 December,1974 (Bureau of Meteorology 1977).

This means that Typhoon Tip's gale force winds covered ~3.8 million square kilometers and Tropical Storm Marco's only 1.1 thousand square kilometers, or .03% of Tip's area.

Typhoon Tip Tropical Storm Marco
Typhoon Tip Tropical Storm Marco


Update May 29, 2009

Back to Tropical Cyclones Records Page | Back to Main FAQ Page
Stay Connected