Assessing the Role of Tropical Cyclones on Drought Characteristics in the Hurricane Region of the Americas Between 1983 and 2024

Droughts and tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the deadliest and costliest natural hazards and are expected to intensify in the twenty-first century due to anthropogenic climate change. The Hurricane Region of the Americas (HRA), an area frequently affected by TCs and droughts, is home to some of the most vulnerable countries to these hazards and the impacts of climate change worldwide. While TCs and drought have been extensively studied separately, little research has been conducted on their interplay in the HRA, particularly in areas lacking quality long-term climate data. In this work, we analyze the impact of TCs on drought characteristics, such as severity and duration, in the HRA from 1983 to 2024. We use high-resolution gridded climate data and a variety of drought metrics to conduct our analysis. We find that, while TCs on average contribute to 4%–15% of annual and seasonal mean precipitation across the region, they also ameliorated or terminated drought at least once in ∼60% of the HRA in a single month in 1983–2024. As TCs continue to get wetter and droughts become more severe in the 21st century, it is critical to understand their interactions for water resource management and climate adaptation.