IBTrACS: Global Tropical Cyclone Tracks with Wind and Pressure Data

IBTrACS provides a unified global collection of tropical cyclone tracks by merging historical and recent data from multiple meteorological agencies. The dataset includes storm identifiers, temporal data, and physical measurements like wind speed and pressure for cyclones across all oceanic basins. It is maintained to improve inter-agency comparisons of storm intensity and paths.

Use Cases

• Analyzing storm intensity trends using WMO_WIND and WMO_PRES across different BASIN regions
• Mapping historical storm paths using LAT, LON, and ISO_TIME for geospatial risk assessment
• Classifying storm types based on the NATURE field to study system evolution

Strengths

• Standardized SID and ISO_TIME fields across multiple international agencies
• Global coverage of all oceanic basins and sub-basins
• Includes both WMO_WIND and WMO_PRES for intensity analysis

Limitations

• Potential data inconsistency between different source agencies prior to merging
• Higher uncertainty in historical records from the pre-satellite era

Provenance

Source

International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS)

Collection Method

Merged from multiple international meteorological agencies

Freshness

Updated through 2026

Geography

Global