Tropical cyclone is the catch-all term for the powerful, spinning storms that feed off warm oceans and the strength of which is determined by wind speeds. The strongest are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons in the Western Pacific and simply tropical cyclones in the South Pacific.

An unusual situation occurred in the Southern Hemisphere Tuesday afternoon, when 5 tropical storms, called cyclones in that part of the world, spun in the southern Indian and Pacific oceans at the same time.