Do You Enjoy Researching Tropical Cyclones? Consider Wikipedia

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Do You Enjoy Researching Tropical Cyclones? Consider Wikipedia

#1 Postby Hurricanehink » Tue May 01, 2018 6:30 pm

Hey all. I’m Hurricanehink, a user here since 2003, and an administrator/writer on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. We are approaching the start of the hurricane season, but as any tropical cyclone researcher knows, storms can happen any time of year worldwide. Every year, Wikipedia gets a bunch of new editors, but they often get frustrated with the coding (do you remember when you first successfully coded an image in a message?) So I am here as a liaison to the Tropical cyclone WikiProject. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Tropical_cyclones

We are always in need of editors, not just for present articles, but also for more historic articles. Today, for example, I started work on the “List of Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Tropical_cyclones/List_of_Category_3_Atlantic_hurricanes - now, I don’t have too much time to edit, but us hurricane editors could use some more writing/researching talent. If this seems up your alley, contact me on Wikipedia (my name is Hurricanehink) and I’d be glad to help you.

Mods, I hope it’s ok I posted this here! (and that I edited the title after it being up for a year)
Last edited by Hurricanehink on Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#2 Postby Hurricanehink » Tue May 01, 2018 7:18 pm

To NotSparta (and anyone else curious what my Wikipedia welcome message is) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:NotSparta
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#3 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat May 05, 2018 6:31 pm

There is a long term goal on Wikipedia to be able to answer the following question.

How many humans deaths can be reliably attributed to tropical cyclones?

According to the U.S. library of medicine, about 1.33 million people worldwide died due to tropical cyclones in the 20th century. Reliable records might only go back to 1600 for deaths related to specific tropical cyclones, so it isn’t an impossible effort to figure out the answer to this question. Undoubtedly, disaster officials around the world would like to know how many deaths have been caused by tropical cyclones by storm Category, by location, and of course by individual cyclone season.

Our small editing team has tried for 13 years to write about tropical cyclones around the world, and in that time, most Atlantic seasons since 1851, and Pacific hurricane seasons since 1960, are in reasonably good shape. This is why we need more editors, to help research and answer some pressing questions.

Wikipedia might sound like a geeky website, but its contents power Siri and Google, and is used by millions of people around the world each year. If you’re interested, I’m happy to teach you the ropes!
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#4 Postby CrazyC83 » Wed May 09, 2018 1:07 pm

I've been researching a lot. Of course, I was also busy with school, and I only did one tropical-related research in my time as a meteorology student (it was from Typhoon Haiyan, concluding the intensity was likely 180-190 knots, and was a freak coincidence of so many favorable factors).
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#5 Postby Hurricanehink » Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:41 pm

In the past month, we've had a few landfalling storms, notably Subtropical Storm Alberto. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtropical_Storm_Alberto - Wikipedians were quick to update the article and add sources about impacts from Cuba to Ohio. Usually, storms that impact the United States get the most attention, and as a result, they're in fairly good shape.

There were two recent North Indian Ocean tropical cyclones. The first was Cyclone Sagar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Sagar - which I've been working on since the storm was making its historic landfall. It was the strongest storm on record to strike Somalia, and caused the only known tropical cyclone deaths I know of in Djibouti. ReliefWeb is a website that collects government and NGO sources, which makes writing these articles easier than you'd think.

Lastly, Cyclone Mekunu became the strongest storm on record to strike the Arabian Peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Mekunu -Some editors have added false information (or blatantly plagiaraized a source), and despite being the most notable of the May storms, it is in the worst shape. ReliefWeb has 44 sources related to the storm, and there are plenty of news articles. This is the sort of storm that is often lacking on Wikipedia. Not many people are interested in writing about storms affecting the Arabian Peninsula or Africa. But, if you're looking to help, then there is plenty you can do, and I'll be glad to help.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#6 Postby Hurricanehink » Tue Jun 26, 2018 5:05 pm

This month saw a series of storms in the eastern Pacific Ocean, including two Category 4 hurricanes. Sometimes, what is needed on Wikipedia is just citing the National Hurricane Center advisories and reporting on a storm's existence. The Atlantic and Eastern Pacific are usually in decent shape, but if you're interested in storms elsewhere in the world, such as the Southern Hemisphere, Western Pacific, or Northern Indian Ocean, then know that there are a lot of important storms in these basins that have scant information on Wikipedia. Information on these storms are incredibly easy to find and source - yes, just like your High School English paper, you have to provide documentation for sources. But since these beasts of nature have been named worldwide since at least 2004 (North Indian Ocean was the last basin to formally add a naming list, unless you count the South Atlantic, but that's dubiously a basin), it is rather easy to find information with a good Google search (or search engine of your choice). Plus, since Wikipedians have been editing since 2003, we have access to a good repository of sources that is easy to navigate and copy from.

Editing isn't the hard part, it's finding people interested in tropical cyclones, and interested in the coding side of documenting Earth's history online, for free, for anyone to look at around the world. In this era of disinformation, it feels really good being part of the solution of documenting known facts, such as tropical cyclones and their effects.

This has been your Weekly Wiki Hurricanehink ♫
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#7 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat Jul 14, 2018 3:05 pm

Weekly Wiki 8-) Issue: 5

Six named storms have come and gone on Wikipedia since my last post. Hurricane Beryl formed on July 5, and quickly grew into a little monster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Beryl - from the beginning, there were discussions whether to get rid of the article for Beryl. Several contributors (MarioProtIV, CooperScience, KN2731, Figfires, CapeVerdeWave, and Cyclonebiskit) worked on the article, and now you can get a thorough understanding of the active subtropical storm. There was also Hurricane Chris, which grew into an early-season hurricane off the East Coast, generating high waves that killed one person. Cheers to the 111 people who have kept the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season article up to date.

Cheers also to the 92 users who have kept the 2018 Pacific hurricane season up to date (where Emilia and Fabio have formed, and the information on Wikipedia is up to date). 85 people have kept the 2018 Pacific typhoon season up to date, and there have been two significant storms since my last post. Typhoon Prapiroon contributed to deadly floods in Japan that have killed 200 people and caused significant damage. Cheers to Cyclonebiskit for your working on the article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Japan_floods

Of note is that Prapiroon brought a surge of moisture to Japan that resulted in record rainfall, which has no mention on the season page, if you are looking to edit something on Wikipedia. That is because there was a more significant storm more recently, Typhoon Maria. I would like to give a shout out to Jason Rees, who recognized, in the days leading up to the last named storm in the western Pacific, he emailed warning agencies to skip "Maria". Too many people in Puerto Rico and Dominica would rather not like to hear about "Maria", which is a very common Hispanic name, and makes me think of the Broadway song(s) "Maria". Puerto Rico was hearing about the Category 5 typhoon named "Maria" strengthening near Guam, and at the same time, the remnants of Hurricane Beryl brought heavy rainfall to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Maria has passed north of Taiwan and made landfall in China, and has caused $432 million. The article is very scarce on details. But it's been hot, and it's summer. So if you're bored, you should consider adding info to - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Maria_(2018)

In short, if you are interested in editing Wikipedia, we could always use editors adding information for the next tropical cyclone. It is only July 14th, but this year has seen Super Typhoon Jelawat in March, Cyclonic Storm Sagar (which has killed 79 people in parts of eastern Africa that rarely see tropical cyclones), Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Mekunu (which was the strongest cyclone on record to strike the Arabian Peninsula), Alberto, Aletta/Bud ( two Category 4 hurricanes in the eastern Pacific), tenacious Beryl, and Hurricane Chris close to the Carolinas.

Are you interested in other recently edited tropical cyclone articles on Wikipedia?
*Hurricane Audrey struck near Texas/Louisiana in 1957 and the strongest recorded June hurricane on record. TheAustinMan recently added 47 kilobytes of information - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Audrey
*The 2003-04 South-West Indian cyclone season was recently promoted to a good article. The season included Cyclone Elita (which crossed Madagascar three times), and Cyclone Gafilo (the basin's strongest cyclone on record at the time) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003–04_South-West_Indian_Ocean_cyclone_season

This has been your Weekly Wiki
~Category 4 Hurricanehink

(P.S. Please message if you are interested in editing!)
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#8 Postby Yellow Evan » Sat Jul 14, 2018 7:51 pm

As a longtime off and on wikipedia hurricane editor (it's basically what I resort to when the tropics are silent), I'm happy to help in any way, shape, or form prospective editors as well. Just shoot me a PM on here or on talk page on Wikipedia (would prefer here so that way I know who's who in regards to both Wiki and Storm2k) if you wish to get started or have any questions.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#9 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:23 pm

Saturday Special Edition Of Weekly Wiki (Issue 6) - July 28, 2018

Tropical Storm Jongdari is over Japan right now! The unusual storm has an article largely edited by User:Meow -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Jongdari

The article is scant on details, so if you’re interested in editing a current event, here is your test run before the season picks up even more.

The Eastern Pacific has been active lately, and editors have been diligently keeping up the information on the season article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Paci ... ane_season

In the North Indian Ocean, a depression over India has caused deadly flooding. This basin is editors less, and there isn’t much information on this storm affecting millions of people.

Elsewhere on Wikipedia, Yellow Evan improved Typhoon Ike to good article status. Every retired typhoon article from 1960-2005 is now at least a good article, but the more recent storms aren’t in as good of shape. This is a long-time project, but with the help of a few editors, the series could be easily completed.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#10 Postby Hurricanehink » Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:31 pm

Since my last post, the tropics have heated up, and so has editor activity on Wikipedia.

In the Atlantic, tropical storms Debby and Ernesto were short-lived fish storms, and we thought for a moment it would be a quiet season (I'd take a whole season of subtropical storms 8-) ). These storms are well-referenced on the season page, as is Florence, whose future is very uncertain - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Tropical_Storm_Ernesto

As with most landfalling United States storms, Tropical Storm Gordon has an article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Gordon_(2018) - but unlike a lot of other storms, this article isn't developed yet, because the storm only struck this morning! If anyone is interested in Tropical Storm Gordon, please contact me or add information yourself to the article. This is your chance to literally write history, as long as you cite it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Pacific_hurricane_season - the busy Pacific hurricane season has now been edited a total of 2,204 times, and it's been kept pretty well up to date, but it could use some help from the more recent storms, especially Olivia (which has no information about its history yet). Long-lived Hurricane Hector has an article, as does the powerful Hurricane Lane (which was done very well by User:Cyclonebiskit). Even that funky subtropical storm that was maybe-kinda-part-of-Lane has a section in the article.

The western Pacific has been active as well. The Jongdai article I mentioned in the previous post has been barely touched. Several storms that struck Japan barely have any information. The recent Typhoon Jebi affected almost the entire country of Japan, but only has one source as of now, so the article could use some assistance right now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Jebi_(2018)

I don't mean this post as a criticism to Wikipedians for the storms that are lacking. You can't tell volunteers what to do anyway :lol: But I can make a plea to the users here, who might have extra time on their hands and want to be a part of documenting history. When disaster strikes, people often turn to Wikipedia for context. Eventually, the storms of this year will be just as much a part of the record as Hurricane Camille, Andrew, Katrina, or Harvey. The bigger storms get plenty of attention, but it's the in-between storms that are rarely documented well on Wikipedia, usually because people don't know of what happened. That's where you come in, maybe, perhaps :?:
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#11 Postby Hurricanehink » Sun Sep 09, 2018 11:04 am

There are other types of hurricane articles on Wikipedia. Here is one I'm working on right now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:List_of_named_storms_(I)

It's documenting every "I" storm on the planet. Hopefully we'll have the entire world in a nice alphabetical list, which will replace the hundreds of individual articles, some of which might not have the most accurate information. As a note to anyone interested, every time an official agency releases a new report giving official information about tropical cyclones (which includes six active tropical cyclones as I type this), there is a crew of editors updating the corresponding Wikipedia pages. Today, User:Undescribed added insurance estimates for Hurricane Lane of over $100 million in damage, putting the storm into a plausible retirement category. The Lane article, btw, is now 48 kb long, which is substantial and comprehensive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Lane_(2018) Users also update the info when reanalysis or post-season best track reports are completed. Where we need the editing energy are the articles that aren't seen quite as often.

TL;DR? If you like spending time researching storms and want a place to channel that energy, consider joining WikiProject Tropical Cyclones! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Tropical_cyclones
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#12 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat Nov 24, 2018 10:15 am

Wikipedians have been busy keeping the tropical cyclone database update to date with the recent storms.

Atlantic
*Florence - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Florence - this storm is likely to become retired, and its article looks similar to other landfalling Atlantic hurricanes. Editors added a comprehensive history of the storm's track, preparations in the United States, and scattered/disorganized information on the impacts and aftermath. Large landfalling storm articles are usually lacking the most in its impact and aftermath, since that requires more research, and often can't be written until later when reports come out.
*Gordon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Gordon_(2018) - yes, even the short-lived Tropical Storm Gordon has an article. As with most landfalling storms, the impacts are mostly based on current news sources. It will eventually be rewritten as the TCR and NCDC storm data reports come in.
*Helene - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene_(2018) - one of the Cape Verde storms this year, this article is on the short side, and will eventually need some sources from the UK to build up the article
*Leslie - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Leslie_(2018) - who can forget this classic meandering hurricane that eventually struck Portugal? Sources in French, Portuguese, and English make this article C-class, meaning it is more than the bare minimum. Like Helene, the article will require more European sources to build it up.
*Michael https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Michael - it's interesting seeing an article for a historic storm being written in real time. By the time it became extratropical, there were already 500 edits to the hurricane's article, making it a valuable online resource in the days after the storm. Since then, editors have done a good job incorporating post-storm reports, but for such a costly and damaging storm, the article is still on the short side, especially in the areas hardest. There's still plenty of information out there on Michael, and it's the sort of storm article to get split up in the future, with articles on the storm effects in Georgia and Florida likely. Sometimes it's emotionally tough writing about severely affected areas, especially for the editors who are active year round and only have limited time to edit whatever the latest disaster was.

Eastern Pacific
*Olivia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Olivia_(2018) - this Hawaiian storm has a comprehensive article because the damage was so minimal. Therefore it's more complete
*TD 19E - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Depression_Nineteen-E_(2018) - yes, even tropical depressions can get articles, especially when they're damaging/deadly. This depression was both, but information is on the scant side, likely because of language limitations. If you speak Spanish and enjoy researching tropical cyclones, the tropical cyclone WikiProject could really use your help with Atlantic and EPAC storms affecting Central America and Mexico. Often the sources are out there with good info, but it's tough writing when you don't speak the language.
*Rosa - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Rosa_(2018) - lengthy article about a hurricane that affected Mexico and the SW US
*Sergio - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Sergio_(2018) - not as comprehensive as Rosa, despite affecting the same general area
*Walaka - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Walaka - this rare Category 5 hurricane only affected isolated islands, so the article is largely complete.
*Vicente - [url][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Vicente_(2018)[/url] - this storm was overshadowed by the more powerful Willa, but Vicente was also damaging and deadly in Mexico. The impacts are on the shorter side for now.
*Willa - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Willa - I remember reading after the storm that there wasn't a lot of damage or deaths, but a lot of that was because English sources didn't cover the damage or deaths. Much like other landfalling major hurricanes, Willa had damaging local effects, only the sources are largely in Spanish, which makes it difficult for the English Wikipedia. That is why the impact and aftermath is so short. If Willa is retired, there will likely be increased attention in improving the article.

Western Pacific
*Mangkhut - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Mangkhut - this deadly/damaging typhoon, likely to be retired, has significant impacts across the Pacific basin
*Yutu - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Yutu - for such a damaging American storm, Yutu got next to no coverage in American media. The article covers damage on the Northern Marianas Islands, although given the scale of damage, reports and news from the islands will be coming in for months still. The article is lighter by comparison in its description of Philippine effects

North Indian
*Luban - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Luban - I wrote this article, part of a series of good articles on storms affecting the Arabian Peninsula.
*Titli and Gaja, tw damaging storms that struck India, have scant information on Wikipedia, and both could support articles if India-based storms are your preference

Other basins
*Alcide and Bouchra have well developed sections in the season article. I want to note Bouchra, which straddled the boundary between SWIO and AUS for several days - check out the infobox if you want to see what it takes to be accurate in reporting these storms! [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_South-West_Indian_Ocean_cyclone_season#Severe_Tropical_Storm_Bouchra[/url]
*Zorbas - [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_tropical-like_cyclone#Zorbas_(27_Sep_–_1_Oct_2018)[/url] - this rare Medicane has a well-developed section, highlighting its development and effects in Greece

In addition to these articles, the following articles have been published:
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclones_in_2018
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_3_Atlantic_hurricanes
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1892_Mauritius_cyclone
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#13 Postby 1900hurricane » Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:14 pm

For recon era Pacific Typhoons, most of the pressure data can be found in the Annual Tropical Cyclone Reports, but some seasons don't have it listed there. The seasons I'm particularly interested in are 1976, 1977, 1986, and 1987. Does anyone know where the pressure data for these years can be found?
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones? (Eastern Pacific)

#14 Postby Hurricanehink » Mon Feb 18, 2019 4:33 pm

Issue 9 - February 18
Happy Winter to the Tropical Cyclone Community. I hope you are all keeping your resolutions, accomplishing your goals, finding you-time, and staying vigilant in the threat for severe weather. A few updates from Wikipedia.

Eastern Pacific Ocean
Articles now exist for...

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_5_Pacific_hurricanes (Featured list)
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_4_Pacific_hurricanes (Featured list)
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_3_Pacific_hurricanes (Featured list)
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_2_Pacific_hurricanes (Featured list)
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_1_Pacific_hurricanes (incomplete 1967-2004)

Thanks to the work of a few dedicated Wikipedians, we know that there were 18 C5 EPAC hurricanes, which collectively caused 21 deaths and $1.36 billion in damage. Most of the effects were in Johnston Atoll, Hawaii, and the Mexican states of Jalisco and Sinaloa. The Category 5 Pacific hurricanes is also a featured topic, meaning that all storms with articles are rated as featured or good articles, which means they have passed a peer review with a certain set of quality standards.

There were 126 C4 EPAC hurricanes, which caused 3,950 deaths and $6.85 billion in damage, with effects in Hawaii, much of the Mexican Pacific coast, and California. Note: these are just the storms that made landfalls, so I might've missed a storm or two.

There were 82 C3 EPAC hurricanes (including 3 different Olivia's), which caused 114 deaths and $508 million in damage. The areas affected were Hawaii and much of the Mexican Pacific coast. Same disclaimer as C4.

There were 84 C2 EPAC hurricanes, which caused 1,775 deaths and $889 million in damage. Most of the deaths were caused by the tropical depression that became Hurricane Paul in 1982.

There were 237 C1 EPAC hurricanes, which caused at least 642 deaths and $4.32 billion in damage. Most of the damage was caused by Hurricane Manuel in 2013.

Atlantic Ocean
There was some recent progress in the Atlantic Ocean. Every season from 1945-2016, excluding 2 seasons (1976 & 2008), have been rated as good articles.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#15 Postby Hurricanehink » Mon Feb 18, 2019 4:34 pm

1900hurricane wrote:For recon era Pacific Typhoons, most of the pressure data can be found in the Annual Tropical Cyclone Reports, but some seasons don't have it listed there. The seasons I'm particularly interested in are 1976, 1977, 1986, and 1987. Does anyone know where the pressure data for these years can be found?


Try the Monthly Weather Report, Mariner Weather Log, or American Meteorological Society archives.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#16 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat Feb 23, 2019 12:44 pm

1997-2006: The highest years on Wikipedia of the highest quality

I thought I'd talk a bit more about some behind-the-scenes work among tropical cyclone editors. Years ago, members of a U.S. roads WikiProject developed a metric called "Wikiwork", which assessed the quality of a series of articles. Featured articles, those that passed a rigorous peer review, would be worth 0 points, as there was essentially no more serious work to do. By comparison, stubs, those that are shortest and most lacking, would be worth 6 points. The lower the number means the higher quality. (think Golf scoring)

From 1997 to 2006, encompassing all storms and seasons worldwide, the Wikiwork was 904, which wounds like a lot, but there are also 411 articles for that time period. That results in an average Wikiwork of 2.2. That time period includes such busy and destructive seasons as the 1997 Pacific hurricane season (a good topic with five featured articles, including Linda, the 2nd strongest hurricane in the basin after Patricia in 2015), the 1997 Pacific typhoon season, the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season (with 29 individual articles including Wilma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record), and other significant storms such as the strongest storm in the North Indian Ocean (1999 Odisha cyclone, killed 10,000 people), the 2nd strongest storm in the south-west Indian Ocean (Gafilo, which killed 300 people in Madagascar, and was the strongest at the time, surpassed by Fantala in 2016), the strongest storm in the Australian region (Inigo), and the 2nd strongest storm in the South Pacific (Zoe, which was surpassed by Winston in 2016). The tropical cyclone WikiProject became active in 2005, which could explain why the articles during this time period and slightly earlier (all in the recent era) are so good.

By comparison, the period from 2007 to 2016 has a Wikiwork of 1676, with 502 articles, for an average Wikiwork of 3.34, significantly higher than the preceding decade. The period from 2019-2018 (the most recent 10 years excluding this year) is even higher, with a Wikiwork of 1710, with 475 articles, for an average Wikiwork of 3.6. That means that more recent articles are worse than ones 10 years ago, which makes sense, considering how long it can take for some reports to come out, and for editors to take the time to tackle big storms.

If any of you are interested in researching tropical cyclones, especially recent ones, then I know we could use your help in writing these articles. All it takes is some decent writing skills (be objective about what you write and don't make it personal), the ability to cite where you got your sources, and not using informal sources such as blogs (meaning you can't cite this forum, but you could cite the advisory from the weather center that a user mentions on here).

I'll gladly answer any questions about Wikipedia, if anyone has them. I thank the moderators for keeping this a stickie at the top of the forum, and I hope it inspires some of you budding tropical cyclone researchers to test out your skills. If you want any incentive, consider this. Just three days ago, Hurricane Juan in 1985 was on the main page of Wikipedia, which was an article I wrote. Over the last three days, the article got 29,000 page views! I'm quite proud that my work was read by so many people, even if it was just a cursory glance. Maybe I got a few people to research more into the dynamics of these fascinating cyclones. If that person is you, consider joining Wikipedia. It's completely volunteer-based, so if you join, you can leave whenever you want... but we really hope you contribute! :)
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones?

#17 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:25 pm

Good/featured articles in the Atlantic
Through the collaborative efforts of many writers on Wikipedia, as of tonight, there are 371 good articles on Wikipedia... on Atlantic tropical cyclones alone. Good articles have a single peer review for accuracy, spelling, and referencing. Since 2000, there are 135 good articles on storms in the Atlantic basin, out of 215 articles, for a GA rate of 62.8%. Among the good articles since 2000 are the following retired storms: Charley, Tropical Storm Erika, Igor, Ingrid, Isidore, Keith, and Lili. Before 2000, among the good articles are the following retired storms: Allen, Anita, Bob, David, Donna, Edna, Greta, Inez, Ione, Janet, Joan, and Klaus. The oddball Hurricane Catarina in 2004 (15 years ago, OMG I feel old) is also a good article.

That all doesn't include the 31 featured articles in the Atlantic Ocean since 2000, which have gone through a rigorous peer review process called Featured Article Candidacy. The featured articles include Tropical Storm Allison, and hurricanes Dean, Fabian, Iris, Isabel, and Juan. Before 2000, the following retired storms are featured: Andrew, Carmen, Carol, Diane, Gloria, Hattie, Hazel, and Lenny. That doesn't included 14 featured lists on timelines for seasons since 2001. The oldest featured article in the Atlantic is on the 1850 Atlantic hurricane season, one year before the start of the official Hurricane database. It is through continued research efforts into early hurricanes that will eventually caused the official hurricane record to be extended back to the 1700s in the future (once the reanalysis program gets more money, but that's for another topic). The newest featured article in the Atlantic is the timeline of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, followed by Hurricane Fred in 2015.

If you're ever bored and want to read a featured article on a meteorology article, you have a lot to choose from - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles#Meteorology For good articles in the Atlantic, you have 371 options, going back to 1804, and as recent as 2018 (Tropical Storm Alberto from last year). Notably, there are 5 good/featured topics, which means that every article in a given season is rated at least a good article. Since 2000, that includes the 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2013 seasons, are all of very high quality. Before 2000, the following seasons are among the best quality on Wikipedia: 1997, 1992, 1991, 1987, 1986, 1982, 1977, 1971, 1971, 1966, and every season from 1948-1962.
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones? Consider Wikipedia

#18 Postby Hurricanehink » Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:52 pm

Cyclone Idai was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and thousands more missing. Idai is the second-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin, behind only the 1892 Mauritius cyclone. In the Southern Hemisphere, it currently ranks as the third-deadliest tropical cyclone on record, behind the aforementioned 1892 Mauritius cyclone and the 1973 Flores cyclone. The cyclone's exact death toll is expected to never be known.


From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Idai
I have to commend the 109 users who wrote the article for the recent Cyclone Idai. The well-developed article has been viewed 257,324 times since March 13, when the article was published by User:Hurricane Noah. At that time, the storm was still active, only a hint of the disaster that would unfold. Other Wikipedians, including Cyclonebiskit, KN2731, B Dash, and Undescribed, helped develop the article as information poured in, and the death toll mounted. These users have followed and wrote about the disaster as it unfolded. I'd like to point out this passage from the Wikipedia article:

Small villages quickly buried the dead, likely without reporting to the government, including those washed in from Zimbabwe. Cadaver dogs were utilized to locate remains across flooded farmlands The exact death toll is not expected to ever be known between the decomposition of bodies, consumption by animals, and unreported burials. Identification of recovered remains is near impossible due to a lack of forensic records.


These are not easy words to read, but imagine being the person who is writing that, documenting it to the world. I asked a question to fellow Wikipedians about the mental toll that researching hurricanes can take - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Tropical_cyclones#PTSD/general_anxiety_related_to_tropical_cyclones?_Post_away_here

I'll also ask it here: have you experienced any anxiety, depression, or PTSD because of researching/documenting a tropical cyclone?
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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones? Consider Wikipedia

#19 Postby Hurricanehink » Sat Apr 13, 2019 8:48 am

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Re: Do you enjoy researching tropical cyclones? Consider Wikipedia

#20 Postby Hurricanehink » Wed May 01, 2019 9:43 pm

As of this week, every Atlantic hurricane season from 1945 to 2007 is rated at least a good article on Wikipedia. That means the articles on the 62 seasons have passed a peer review, and has citations for all info. Another Wikipedia update: in the 24 hours after Hurricane Michael's TCR was released, the article on the hurricane was edited 82 times by 18 different users. Other Wikipedia articles were quickly updated for Michael's Category 5 upgrade.

I'm proud of a new list article I made, which I'm surprised no one made before: Tropical Cyclones by year - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclones_by_year Right now it's only complete from 2000 to present, but during that time, there were 2,490 tropical cyclones of various intensity, causing a collective $1 trillion in damage and 200,000 deaths.

The most significant storm of April, Kenneth, has an article and is being updated with rising death toll - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Kenneth In addition, the first significant storm in May, Fani, has an article that has been edited 133 times by 31 different users. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Fani - if you find information on Fani, please consider adding it to the article. You could be one of the editors that helps document history.
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