User talk:Jason Rees

Number 6, November 5, 2006

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Typhoon Xangsane, known as Typhoon Milenyo in the Philippines was a destructive typhoon that affected the Philippines and Indochina. The storm caused severe flooding and landslides in the regions it affected and was responsible for at least 279 deaths and $747 million (USD) in damage, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam. Xangsane formed to the east of the Philippines and rapidly intensified, striking Samar Island as a Category 4 typhoon. It weakened over the Philippines, but again reached Category 4 strength in the South China Sea. After its landfall in Vietnam, the typhoon dissipated, with its remnant crossing Indochina and entering the Bay of Bengal.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Hurricane Isaac, which formed in September, hit Newfoundland with minimal effects on October 2. It was the only Atlantic storm in October.
• One hurricane, Hurricane Paul, formed in the eastern Pacific and hit Mexico. There were also two tropical storms, Norman and Olivia, and two tropical depressions in the basin.
• In addition to Typhoon Xangsane, two further typhoons and two tropical storms developed in the west Pacific. Typhoon Soulik and Tropical Storms Bebinca and Rumbia both stayed clear of land, whilst Typhoon Cimaron hit the Philippines killing at least 19 people there, before it dissipated in the South China Sea.
• The North Indian Ocean saw one storm, Cyclonic Storm Ogni form in the Bay of Bengal.
• The 2006-2007 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season got underway, with Tropical Cyclone Xavier forming to the west of Fiji. There were two further tropical depressions in the South Pacific and a tropical disturbance in the South Indian Ocean.

New articles and improvements wanted

• Articles are wanted for Hurricane Flossy (1956), Tropical Storm Debbie (1965) and Tropical Storm Beryl (1994).
• The articles on the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres, such as those on the NHC, JMA and CPHC, all need work.
• Likewise the articles on meteorologists such as Lixion Avila are poor.

Member of the month

The October Member of the Month is Coredesat. Coredesat joined the WikiProject in March and has contributed to many diverse areas within the project. He has written two featured articles on Atlantic storms and a number of good articles on current typhoons. However, the article he is most proud of is a disambiguation page, a sorely neglected portion of the project.

Main Page content

• Global tropical cyclone tracks appeared on the Main Page as Today's Featured Picture on October 3.
• Entries from Hurricane Alberto (2000), Typhoon Xangsane (2006), Tropical Storm Bertha (2002) and Hurricane Bob (1985) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during October.

New and improved articles

• New storm articles include: Hurricane Alberto (2000), Tropical Depression Nine (2003), Hurricane Paul (2006) and Tropical Storm Peter (2003).
• A non-storm article was made on Pacific hurricane.
• New featured content: List of Delaware hurricanes, 2004 Atlantic hurricane season and 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
• Significantly improved articles include: Hurricane Erika (2003) (A), Hurricane Linda (1997) (GA), Hurricane Ophelia (2005) (GA), Subtropical Storm Nicole (2004) (GA) and Hurricane Danny (2003).

Storm article statistics

Grade	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
FA	16	15	15	16
A	6	7	6	7
GA	24	28	33	48
B	77	79	84	83
Start	191	200	201	210
Stub	8	8	13	11
Total	322	337	352	375
percentage ≥;Less than B	61.8	61.7	60.8	58.9

Tropical cyclone scales

The various agencies which report on tropical cyclones use a variety of different scales to measure the storms strength. The most familiar of these is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and this is the de facto standard in the project and should be used everywhere. However, as it is only official in the Atlantic and East Pacific, other local scales should be used when discussing storms in other regions and given primacy over the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The Saffir-Simpson scale is based on 1-minute averages, but other scales are generally based upon 10-minute averages, which are approximately 15% lower.

This table provides a useful-at-a-glance comparison of the various scales currently in use. Further complications arise due to the fact different agencies obtain different estimates for the same storm at the same time, so be careful to use the most appropriate source agency.

Number 10, March 4, 2007

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Favio developed well to the east of northern Madagascar on February 12 and moved to the southwest as it developed. The storm did not significantly intensify until February 19 when it was just off the southern coast of Madagascar, but rapidly intensified soon after to its peak with 185 km/h (115 mph) winds. Favio turned to the northwest and hit Mozambique worsening the floods already occurring in the country. Favio claimed at least 4 lives and destroyed thousands of homes.

Other tropical cyclone activity
There were a total of 6 tropical cyclones in the southern hemisphere during February. Five of these, including Favio, were in the South West Indian Ocean.

• The only other storm in the Australian region was Cyclone Nelson which formed at the end of January in the Gulf of Carpentaria before it hit Queensland.
• Cyclone Dora was active in January and reached its peak as an annular cyclone on February 3 with 185 km/h (115 mph) winds.
• Cyclone Gamede was an unusually large storm that prompted the highest level of cyclone warning on Réunion and brought strong winds to the island on February 27, causing a bridge to collapse.
• Neither Enok towards the start of the month or Humba near its end, had any impact on land.

Member of the month

The February member of the month is Miss Madeline. Miss Madeline is responsible for many of the projects featured lists such as List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes and List of California hurricanes. She has also put serious work into many of our Pacific hurricane articles since she joined the project as one of its founding members. Recently she has worked on 1996 Pacific hurricane season, bringing it from a stub-class article to a Good article candidate.

New and improved articles

• New featured content: Hurricane Erika (1997), Effects of Hurricane Isabel in Maryland and Washington, D.C., Meteorological history of Hurricane Wilma, 2000 Sri Lanka Cyclone, Hurricane Isabel and List of Florida hurricanes (pre-1900).
• New Good articles include Hurricane Pauline, Hurricane Isis (1998), 1939 Pacific typhoon season, Typhoon Tip and 1983 Atlantic hurricane season.
• New articles include Hurricane Isis (1998), Hurricane Debby (1982), Hurricane Adolph (2001), Hurricane Alberto (1982) and Tropical Depression One (1992).

Main Page content

• Entries from 6 articles: Hurricane Flossy (1956), Hurricane Able (1951), Meteorological history of Hurricane Wilma, Effects of Hurricane Wilma in the Bahamas, Tropical Depression One (1992) and Tropical cyclone basins appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during February.

New articles and improvements wanted

• Articles are wanted on Pacific typhoon, North Indian cyclone, diffluence, Outflow (meteorology) and Central dense overcast.
• Improvements are wanted to Subtropical cyclone, Japan Meteorological Agency, Intertropical Convergence Zone, 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Andrew.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar
FA	19	23	25	28
A	6	2	2	2
GA	57	74	75	80
B	78	71	76	78
Start	200	193	195	194
Stub	15	16	16	16
Total	375	379	389	398
percentage Less than B	57.3	55.1	54.2	52.8

Comments wanted on project talk Many discussions that potentially have far reaching impact for the whole project are carried out on the project's talk page. However, only a fraction of our active contributors actually engage in those discussions. If you add the project page to your Watchlist and keep an eye on discussions there to monitor upcoming changes, even if you don't participate in those discussions it would help both yourself and the project as a whole. For instance, at the moment the primary infobox templates such as {{Infobox hurricane}} are in the process of being deprecated and replaced by new versions which do the role more effectively.

Number 11, April 1, 2007

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Hurricane Will developed from a tropical wave to the east of the Caribbean Sea and intensified. It crossed over Jamaica and re-emerged over water a few days later. The storm intensified into a hurricane and an eye began to develop. Will became a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on the vulnerable Gulf Coast of the United States soon after. To date, Hurricane Will has claimed over 350 lives and is directly responsible for about $5 billion of damages; of which an unknown amount was insured. Despite the damage, it is not expected that the name will be retired by WMO.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• After threatening the Eastern Seaboard for some time, Hurricane Hink has turned away and the NHC has cancelled all warnings associated with the storm.
• The 2007 Pacific typhoon season began with Tropical Storm Kong-rey forming on March 31.
• There were a total of 7 cyclones in the southern hemisphere: Becky in the South Pacific, Indlala and Jaya in the Southwestern Indian Ocean and Odette, George, Jacob and Kara in the Australian region. Indlala killed at least 80 and left over 100,000 homeless; whilst Cyclone George was the worst storm to affect Port Hedland in over 30 years.

Member of the month

The April member of the month is HurricaneIrene. Irene began contributing to tropical cyclone articles on Wikipedia in August 2005, but ran out of steam and left after barely 2 weeks. However, Irene's influence on the project has been wide-reaching. Her efforts led directly to two articles attaining featured status and her legacy inspired many of our most active editors to write a plethora of good articles on a wide range of storms.

New and improved articles

• The was one new featured article: Hurricane Kenna
• New Good articles include: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, Hurricane Florence (1988), Tropical cyclone observation and 1996 Pacific hurricane season.
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Lili (1990), Tropical Storm Alberto (1988), Cyclone George and Typhoon Durian.
• New non-storm articles include: Tropical cyclone naming, list of cyclones in Western Australia, Hurricane evacuation route and Tropical cyclone rainfall forecasting.

Main Page content

• Hurricane Iniki appeared on the Main Page as Today's featured article on March 15.
• Entries from 2 articles: Hurricane Katrina (1981) and Hurricane Guillermo (1997) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during March.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
FA	23	25	28	29
A	2	2	2	2
GA	74	75	80	82
B	71	76	78	80
Start	193	195	194	209
Stub	16	16	16	17
Total	379	389	398	419
percentage Less than B	55.1	54.2	52.8	53.9

The Main Page

The WikiProject has a narrow scope, so it is not surprising that our articles are not frequently selected for Today's featured article. Most destructive cyclones are likely to be mentioned on the In the news column. We have no real control over that, but we should submit suggestions when appropriate.

However, we can do a more lot more to place our content in the other major section of the main page: The Did you know column. In the past month we created over 30 articles. Of these only 2 were even submitted as suggestions for DYK. We can do much better, please submit DYK entries for new articles when you do the initial assessment.

Number 13, February 2, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Gene formed on January 26 over the open south Pacific Ocean. It drifted southward, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Gene on January 28 as it moved across the Fijian archipelago. There, it brought heavy rainfall, which caused the worst flooding in several years. Half of the country was left without power, and the cyclone killed seven people in Fiji. The storm turned southwestward, developing a cloud-filled eye and quickly strengthening by the end of the month.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• One tropical cyclone formed in the Western North Pacific Ocean west of The Philippines, which was analyzed by Japan Meteorological Agency as a depression; it tracked southwestward and did not significantly affect any land areas.
• In addition to Cyclone Gene, Tropical Storm Elisa and Cyclone Fuma occurred in the South Pacific ocean during the month, along with three tropical depressions.
• The only tropical cyclone in Australian region during the month was Tropical Cyclone Helen, which struck Australia.
• Four tropical cyclones, three of which named, existed in the Southwest Indian Ocean during the month. The most notable was Cyclone Fame, which caused twelve deaths after striking Madagascar.

Member of the month

The January member of the month is Ajm81. A tropical cyclone editor since he first joined in October 2005, Ajm81 plays a vital role in the project. Unlike other editors, who mainly edit articles, Ajm81 maintains and updates the track maps across the project. We thank Ajm81 for his timely contributions, and may he have some well-deserved downtime after the last tropical cyclone report is released.

New and improved articles

• There were six new pieces of Featured content : 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, List of storms in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, List of North Carolina hurricanes (pre-1900), 1983 Atlantic hurricane season, 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Lane (2006)
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Cleo, Hurricane Gracie, 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane
• New storm articles include: Tropical Storm Danielle (1980), Hurricane Elida (2002), Cyclone Elita, Cyclone Indlala
• New non-storm articles include: 2006 central Pacific cyclone, List of United States hurricanes

Main Page content

• Entries from 8 articles: Hurricane Ava (1973), Cyclone Inigo, Hurricane Greg (1999), Hurricane Henri (1979), Hurricane Kenneth (2005), Hurricane Elida (2002), Cyclone Elita, and Hurricane Naomi (1968) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during January.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan
FA	30	31	33	33
A	9	8	9	9
GA	106	109	112	114
B	78	82	86	99
Start	212	211	208	214
Stub	5	6	6	3
Total	440	447	454	472
ω	3.02	3.01	2.98	2.98
percentage Less than B	49.3	48.5	47.1	46.0

Wikiwork and 1000 articles In January 2008, the WikiProject began using a system called Wikiwork, or ω. It weighs the overall quality of the project's articles, and a lower number means a greater total quality. The weighed ω, as used above, is a relative number that can be used to compare groups of this article. As of this publication, the relative ω of the project is 3.404, corresponding to between Start and B class. However, when limiting it solely to storm articles, the number drops to 2.98, which is slightly better than B class. During the month, a new statistics page was created.

Additionally, during the month, Mitchazenia pointed out that we received our 1,000th article with the creation of Cyclone Elita.

Number 14, March 1, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Ivan formed on February 7 and subsequently executed a loop to the west-southwest. Encountering favorable conditions, it strengthened to attain peak winds on February 17 before striking northeastern Madagascar. It degenerated into a remnant low pressure area as it crossed the island, and briefly re-organized into a weak tropical depression before dissipating on February 22. Ivan caused heavy damage in Madagascar, leaving 190,000 people homeless and causing over 83 deaths.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• In the South Pacific ocean, Cyclone Gene persisted from the previous month; a tropical depression also occurred in the month.
• Tropical Cyclone Nicholas was the only named storm during the month in the Australian region, which struck Western Australia. Two tropical lows occurred during the month, the latter of which later formed into Tropical Cyclone Ophelia.
• Four storms occurred in the Southwest Indian Ocean, including two from the previous month and the aforementioned Cyclone Ivan. Cyclone Hondo became the strongest cyclone worldwide in the month, and after becoming extratropical it regenerated over ten days later about 1750 miles (2800 km) to its west-northwest.

Member of the month

The February member of the month is RattleMan, for his lasting dedication and continual support of the project. During February, the user worked on improving the timeline articles for the previous season. RattleMan often updates the sections on storms in season articles, and helps to maintain the southern hemisphere articles.

New and improved articles

• There were 6 new pieces of Featured content : Hurricane Felix (featured picture), Hurricane Isis (1998), Tropical Storm Alberto (2006), Hurricane John (2006), Tropical cyclone, and Hurricane Isabel (featured picture)
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Gracie, Hurricane Ava (1973), Hurricane Flossy (1956)
• New storm articles include: 1935 Yankee hurricane, Hurricane Ginny, Cyclone Agni, 1917 Pinar del Río hurricane
• New non-storm articles include: List of North Carolina hurricanes (1950-1979)

Main Page content

• Today's Featured Article: Hurricane Isis (1998) appeared on the Main Page in the Today's Featured Article on February 15
• Entries from 3 articles: Hurricane Naomi (1968), Hurricane Darby (1992), and Hurricane Hernan (2002) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during February.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb
FA	31	33	33	36
A	8	9	9	8
GA	109	112	114	123
B	82	86	99	96
Start	211	208	214	216
Stub	6	6	3	6
Total	447	454	472	485
ω	3.01	2.98	2.98	2.96
percentage Less than B	48.5	47.1	46.0	45.8
percentage GA or better	33.1	33.9	33.1	34.3

Improvements During the month, a total of 15 new articles were added, though the net increase in start or stub articles was only three. The highest quality set of articles for a basin is for the Eastern Pacific Ocean, of which half of its articles are either a good article or better; all of its retired storm articles are good or better. However, the basin has a lower total number of articles, and the Atlantic basin has a higher overall total of good articles.

There is a drive to increase the number of featured topics, which is located on the project talk page.

Number 15, April 5, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Jokwe was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Mozambique since Cyclone Favio struck in the previous year. The tenth named storm of the 2007-08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Jokwe was first classified as a tropical depression on March 2 over the open Southwest Indian Ocean. It tracked west-southwest, crossing northern Madagascar as a tropical storm on March 5 before intensifying into a tropical cyclone on March 6. Jokwe rapidly intensified to reach peak winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), before weakening slightly and striking Nampula Province in northeastern Mozambique. It quickly weakened while paralleling the coastline, though the storm restrengthened as it turned southward in the Mozambique Channel. Late in its duration, it remained nearly stationary for several days, and steadily weakened due to wind shear before dissipating on March 16.

The storm caused minor damage in northern Madagascar. In Mozambique, the cyclone affected 165,000 people, and left at least sixteen fatalities. Cyclone Jokwe destroyed over 9,000 houses and damaged over 3,000 more, with the heaviest damage in Angoche and the Island of Mozambique in Nampula Province. The storm also caused widespread power outages and crop damages.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• There were no named tropical cyclones in the South Pacific ocean, though a tropical depression developed near Vanuatu in the third week of the month.
• Late in the month, Cyclone Pancho developed in the Australian region, reaching peak winds of 90 knots. In addition, Cyclone Ophelia lasted from late February through early March.
• In addition to Cyclone Jokwe, there were two named tropical cyclones in the Southwest Indian Ocean; Cyclone Kamba became an Intense Tropical Cyclone over open waters, and Tropical Storm Lola formed and dissipated near Mauritius late in the month.

Member of the month

The March member of the month is CapeVerdeWave, whose first edit was to a tropical cyclone article, back in January 2006. CapeVerdeWave has been a steady and active member of the project, writing several articles on Category 5 hurricanes as well as working on the often forgotten older hurricanes. The user also has contributed to some older season articles, and recently helped update the project after the recent hurricane re-analysis. We thank him for his continued dedication.

New members

New and improved articles

• There were 6 new pieces of Featured content : Typhoon Paka, List of wettest tropical cyclones in the United States, Effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America, List of retired Pacific typhoon names (JMA), Tropical Storm Vamei, and List of New York hurricanes
• New Good articles include: Hurricane Beulah, Hurricane Ione, Hurricane Isidore
• New storm articles include: 1945 Southeast Florida hurricane, Hurricane Fox (1952)
• New non-storm articles include: Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Florida, List of North Carolina hurricanes (1900-1949)

Main Page content

• Today's Featured Article: 1933 Atlantic hurricane season appeared on the Main Page in the Today's Featured Article on March 27
• Entries from 1 article: 1917 Pinar del Río hurricane appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during March.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar
FA	33	33	36	38
A	9	9	8	8
GA	112	114	123	130
B	86	99	96	91
Start	208	214	216	211
Stub	6	3	6	9
Total	454	472	485	487
ω	2.98	2.98	2.96	2.94
percentage Less than B	47.1	46.0	45.8	45.2
percentage GA or better	33.9	33.1	34.3	36.1

Project News: Updates on the Best Track - Atlantic and North Indian Ocean, and more
In February, the Hurricane Research Division released its reanalysis for the Atlantic Ocean from 1915 to 1920. Highlights include the addition of eight storms, as well as the removal of one storm. The winds in the 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane were increased to 130 knots, and the 1916 Texas hurricane was increased to a Category 4 hurricane.

According to an email sent to the India Meteorological Department, there will be an online version of the North Indian Ocean best track from 1877 to 2006, scheduled to be released in two months; it is unknown if it will cost money to access.

In unrelated news, the project was featured on the Signpost; Mitchazenia was interviewed, and talked about the past, present, and future of the project.

At the end of the month, there were five different Featured content candidates (FXC's) by five different editors; two were featured article candidates, two were featured list candidates, and one was a featured picture candidate. The have been a few times in which there were four FXC's from four different editors, most recently in February and early March of 2008.

Number 16, May 3, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Typhoon Neoguri was the earliest tropical cyclone on record to strike China. It formed on April 13 to the east of the Philippines, and once entering the South China Sea, environmental conditions allowed for quick strengthening. Neoguri attained its peak intensity of 150 km/h (90 mph) as it approached the island of Hainan, though rapidly weakened due to unfavorable conditions. The system made landfall in southern China on April 19, causing three deaths and moderate damage totaling over ¥296 million (2008 RMB, $42 million 2008 USD). The typhoon left 40 fishermen missing in the South China Sea.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• A weak tropical depression formed near New Caledonia in the South Pacific ocean early in the month, and another tropical depression developed in the basin later in the month.
• Two named storms formed in the Australian region during the month, including Tropical Cyclone Durga, which was the first ever cyclone named by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia. Tropical Cyclone Rosie co-existed with Durga for much of its duration.
• Cyclone Nargis developed in the North Indian Ocean late in the month, and reached its peak intensity early in May; further details will be covered in the next newsletter.

Member of the month

The April member of the month is VOFFA. Though not officially a project member, VOFFA is an important user to the project, having maintained and updated the talk page archives on tropical cyclones worldwide; activity includes adding warnings and discussions for all storms. The user is particularly active during the off-season of the Atlantic basin, when article activity on tropical cyclones typically declines.

New members

New and improved articles

• There were six new pieces of Featured content : Cyclone Elita, List of North Carolina hurricanes (1900-1949), Tropical Storm Barry (2007), List of North Carolina hurricanes, Lists of North Carolina hurricanes (FT), and Image:KatrinaNewOrleansFlooded edit2.jpg
• New Good articles include: Tropical Storm Fay (2002), 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, 1939 California tropical storm
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Ileana (2006), Hurricane Madeline (1998), Hurricane Lester (1998)
• New non-storm articles include: Hurricane Ivan tornado outbreak, Timeline of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season

Main Page content

• Entries from 9 articles: Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Alabama, Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Georgia, Cyclone Jokwe, Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Mississippi, Tropical Storm Arthur (1996), Cyclone Gamede, Cyclone Glenda, Hurricane Cosme (2007), and Typhoon Neoguri (2008) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during April.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
FA	33	36	38	40
A	9	8	8	8
GA	114	123	130	131
B	99	96	91	103
Start	214	216	211	208
Stub	3	6	9	9
Total	472	485	487	499
ω	2.98	2.96	2.94	2.92
percentage Less than B	46.0	45.8	45.2	43.5
percentage GA or better	33.1	34.3	36.1	35.9

Project News
There is discussion on the status of articles on non-notable storms in the Merging page of the project. Comments are welcome.

A Wikipedia traffic counter was launched earlier this year. In the month of February, the article on Hurricane Katrina was viewed just over 200,000 times, making the article the 496th most viewed article on the English Wikipedia during the month.

During the month, Hurricane Camille was demoted from GA status, continuing the trend of good articles degrading in status on notable storms; other occurrences include the FA removal of Cyclone Tracy and 1900 Galveston Hurricane. If anyone has any ideas how to fix the problem, feedback and ideas are appreciated.

Number 17, June 7, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

Storm of the month

Cyclone Nargis was the costliest and deadliest natural disaster in the history of Burma (Myanmar). It formed on April 27 in the central Bay of Bengal, and after initially tracking north-northwestward it turned to the east. Quickly strengthening to reach peak winds of at least 165 km/h (105 mph), Nargis made landfall in the Ayeyarwady Division of Burma on May 2 near peak intensity. The cyclone killed at least 80,000 people and potentially over 300,000. Passing near the metropolis of Yangon, the cyclone destroyed thousands of buildings, and damage was estimated at over $10 billion (USD). In the wake of the storm, the ruling military junta of Burma initially refused foreign aid, and after they allowed foreign assistance, the government was criticized for its poor handling of the aftermath of the storm.

Other tropical cyclone activity

• Northwestern Pacific Ocean – Typhoon Rammasun was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide during the month, though it did not affect land. Tropical Storm Matmo formed east of Luzon in the middle of the month and lasted for three days. Severe Tropical Storm Halong (Cosme) was the deadliest storm in the Pacific basin, causing 58 deaths and $94 million (USD) in damage after hitting Luzon on May 17. At the end of the month, Typhoon Nakri formed and reached peak intensity over open waters before becoming extratropical in early June.
• Eastern Pacific Ocean – Tropical Storm Alma was was the easternmost forming Pacific tropical cyclone on record. Forming from a trough on May 29, it became a strong tropical storm before making landfall near León, Nicaragua, killing at least two people.
• 2008 Atlantic hurricane season– Tropical Storm Arthur formed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Alma as it made landfall on Belize, causing flash flooding and at least nine fatalities.

New and improved articles

• There were three new pieces of Featured content : 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, List of United States hurricanes, Tropical Depression Ten (2007)
• New Good articles include: Cyclone Gamede, Effects of Hurricane Dennis in Georgia, 1987 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Lili, 1959 Mexico Hurricane
• New storm articles include: Hurricane Alma (1996), Hurricane Gladys (1975), Hurricane Liza (1968)
• New non-storm articles include: Hurricane Frances tornado outbreak, List of Maryland and Washington, D.C. hurricanes (1980–present), 1851 Atlantic hurricane season

Project News
Several other languages are active in the realm of tropical cyclone articles, though as much as ours. The French Wikipedia has 76 storm articles, the Spanish Wikipedia has 99 storm articles, and the Portuguese Wikipedia has 116 storm articles. Each of the projects have several storm articles we do not have, and the coverage on non-notable storms outside of the Atlantic is better, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere.

During the month, User:Potapych finished working on Template:Infobox Hurricane Small, which is used for the small Infoboxes in season articles; he has updated several season article already with the changes.

Main Page content

• Cyclone Nargis appeared early in the month in the In the news column
• Entries from three articles: Hurricane Madeline (1998), Hurricane Alma (1996), and Hurricane Liza (1968) appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know column during May.

Storm article statistics

Grade	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
FA	36	38	40	41
A	8	8	8	17
GA	123	130	131	129
B	96	91	103	101
Start	216	211	208	209
Stub	7	9	9	9
Total	487	487	499	506
ω	2.96	2.94	2.92	2.88
percentage ≥Less than B	45.8	45.2	43.5	43.1
percentage ≥GA or better	34.3	36.1	35.9	367.0

Member of the month

The May member of the month is Juliancolton. Joining the project in November 2007, Julian has become an active member of the project, working on new articles in the Atlantic basin. He has created two featured lists (List of Maryland and Washington, D.C. hurricanes (1980–present) and List of New York hurricanes), and rewrote the article on 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which became featured during May. Juliancolton is currently working on a featured topic for Hurricane Dennis and its effects by region.

New members

• HkCaGu
• Leolisa1997
• Itfc+canes=me