About StormGlobe
Live hurricane and tropical storm tracking with forecast tracks and cones.
What this is
A tropical cyclone is a rotating storm that forms over warm ocean water, organized around a low-pressure center. Depending on its strength and where it forms it’s called a tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane, typhoon or simply cyclone — all the same kind of storm under different regional names.
StormGlobe tracks active storms as paths: where a storm has been, where it is now, and the official forecast track and cone of uncertainty. Its intensity scale is maximum sustained wind, the basis of the Saffir–Simpson categories.
Learn the basics
All articles →- 🌀 How tropical cyclones form and strengthenWarm water, moisture and low wind shear — the ingredients, the naming ladder from depression to hurricane, and what fuels rapid intensification.
- 🎯 Reading the forecast track and coneWhy the cone shows the center’s likely path — not the storm’s size or its hazards — and the single biggest mistake people make with it.
- 🌊 Wind isn’t the deadliest partStorm surge, inland rainfall flooding, wind and tornadoes — and why water, not wind, causes most deaths.
Hurricane safety
General guidance — follow your national meteorological agency and local officials first.
Before the season / when a storm threatens
- Know your evacuation zone and route, and prepare a multi-day kit (water, food, meds, documents, power).
- When a warning is issued, finish preparations — a hurricane warning means conditions are expected within ~36 hours.
Evacuate from surge; shelter from wind
- If ordered to evacuate for storm surge, leave — surge is the deadliest hazard and water rises fast.
- If sheltering, stay in an interior room away from windows; don’t go out during the calm eye — the eyewall returns.
After the storm
- Beware flooding, downed power lines and standing water; most deaths can come after landfall, inland.
- Don’t drive through flooded roads, and return to evacuated areas only when authorities say it’s safe.
Data sources
- NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC) — Active-storm advisories, forecast tracks, cones and watches/warnings.
- NOAA National Weather Service — Local watches, warnings and storm-surge and rainfall guidance.
Frequently asked
- If I’m outside the cone, am I safe?
- No. The cone shows only where the storm’s center is likely to go — not the storm’s size. Dangerous wind, rain and surge regularly reach well outside it. Follow the watches and warnings for your location.
- What does the category actually tell me?
- Saffir–Simpson category rates wind damage only. It says nothing about storm surge or rainfall flooding, which cause most deaths — a lower-category storm can still be deadly.
- Why is water more dangerous than wind?
- Storm surge and inland rainfall flooding cause the majority of tropical-cyclone deaths. Surge inundates the coast in hours; rain floods inland areas for days, often after the winds have eased.
- What’s the difference between a hurricane, typhoon and cyclone?
- Nothing physically — they’re the same storm. The name just depends on the ocean basin: hurricane (Atlantic/NE Pacific), typhoon (NW Pacific), cyclone (Indian Ocean / South Pacific).
⚠️ Important
StormGlobe is informational, not an official warning system. Forecasts carry uncertainty and impacts extend beyond the cone. For life-safety decisions follow your national meteorological agency and local emergency officials.