A cyclone is a large-scale weather system characterized by inward-spiraling winds that rotate around a low-pressure center. Their rotation is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Cyclones vary in size, with the largest being polar vortices and extratropical cyclones, while smaller examples include tornadoes and dust devils. Warm-core cyclones, such as tropical and subtropical cyclones, also exist within the synoptic scale.
1972: Official Recognition of Subtropical Cyclones
In 1972, the National Hurricane Center officially acknowledged subtropical cyclones as a distinct category, resolving previous uncertainty on classifying these hybrid weather systems that blend features of tropical and extratropical cyclones.
2002: Naming Subtropical Cyclones in the Atlantic
Starting in 2002, subtropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin began to be officially named, drawing them into the established naming conventions used for tropical cyclones.