What is the definition of a tropical depression?

[year_2005]

Ive heard it is when the circulation is closed around the low pressure center and the system is symmetric and not extra tropical, is this the only criteria?

[tolakram]

Howdy.

Many of your questions can be answered by using the search feature located near the top right of the page. Searching for all the terms: tropical depression definition comes up with quite a few results.


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[lester]

wikipedia knows all my friend

A tropical depression is an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined, closed surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 metres per second (33 kn) or 39 miles per hour (63 km/h). It has no eye and does not typically have the organization or the spiral shape of more powerful storms. However, it is already a low-pressure system, hence the name "depression".

[StrongWind]

Living between roughly 23 degrees north/south of the equator and getting fired, losing your girlfriend, having your dog die, and wrecking your car. All in the same day.

[Cryomaniac]

Living between roughly 23 degrees north/south of the equator and getting fired, losing your girlfriend, having your dog die, and wrecking your car. All in the same day.

[DanKellFla]

Living between roughly 23 degrees north/south of the equator and getting fired, losing your girlfriend, having your dog die, and wrecking your car. All in the same day.

Exactly when a TD forms is debatable. But, its existence can be confired with a simple test. A Hurricane Hunter plane flies over the storm and releases a few tons of prozac. If, after a few hours the storm calms down they you know for sure that it was a tropical depression and not a tropical sadness.