At a Glance

October's tropical cyclones have been odd in several ways.That includes Atlantic Basin formations more typical of the heart of the season. Otis was the strongest hurricane landfall on record for Mexico's Pacific coast. A South Pacific cyclone is also unusually strong so early in that season. An Arabian Peninsula cyclone dumped over eight years' worth of rain.

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October has been a weird month for hurricanes and tropical cyclones around the world in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Arabian Sea.

F​irst and foremost, in just one week we've seen , from Yemen to China, Vanuatu, Mexico and the Leeward Islands.

are likely one - but not the sole - contributing factor to this spurt of tropical activity. Here's a list of what caught our eye as meteorologists.

A​tlantic storms formed unusually far east for October. Two weeks ago, Tropical Storm Sean formed in the far eastern Atlantic, closer to Africa than the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles. That's typical in August or September, but not October. According to Colorado State University tropical scientist Phil Klotzbach, Sean was the on record.

The following week, Tammy became the .

Typical October named storm areas, with the location where Sean became a tropical storm on Oct. 11, 2023.

(Data: NOAA/NHC)

S​outhwest Caribbean active despite strengthening El Niño. off the coast of Nicaragua this past Monday, then quickly moved inland and dissipated. What's odd about this is usually in a year of a strengthening El Niño, any Caribbean development this late in the season is often squashed by strong wind shear.

B​ut as NOAA hurricane scientist Andy Hazelton noted, the wind pattern over the Caribbean wasn't suppressive, but rather .

Four Eastern Pacific landfalls in two weeks. On the other hand, El Niño typically leads to more active Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons. We've had four E. Pacific storms this October - Lidia, Max, Norma and Otis. All but Max became hurricanes and each of them would make a landfall in Mexico in a roughly two-week span since Oct. 10.

O​tis rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours. It made landfall on Oct. 25 with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph near Acapulco as the most intense Mexican Pacific Coast landfall on record. The National Hurricane Center said in its Tuesday evening discussion, "There are no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part of Mexico."

(​PERSPECTIVE: Otis Forecast Was A 'Nightmare Scenario' For Acapulco)

The four E. Pacific named storm tracks from October 2023, through the morning of Oct. 25, 2023.

(Data: NOAA/NHC)

T​he Southwest Pacific has an unusually intense, early cyclone. On Tuesday, Cyclone Lola reached the equivalent of a in the southwest Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. That was the strongest October cyclone by estimated wind speed on record in that basin.

A​nd it happened when the Southwest Pacific Basin is just getting started in its cyclone season. had been documented in that basin since the 1970s.

Over eight years of rain fell from one storm. Cyclone Tej first ramped up to a strong Category 3 equivalent storm, among the 10 strongest on record in the Arabian Sea, Jeff Masters and Bob Henson wrote in a .

W​hile Tej lost some intensity, it still made landfall as a strong tropical storm, .

B​ut its rainfall was most eye popping. According to Yemen Meteorological Services, , over eight times its average annual rainfall of only 2 inches. That lead to massive flooding in eastern Yemen and far southwestern Oman.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter from a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He studied physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then completed his Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X/Twitter, Facebook and Threads.

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