Time series of tropical cyclone "best track" position and intensity data are provided for all ocean basins where tropical cyclones occur. Position and intensity data are available at 6-hourly intervals over the duration of each cyclone's life. The general period of record begins in 1851, but this varies by ocean basin. See the inventories for data availability specific to each basin.

This data set was received as a revision to an NCDC tropical cyclone data set, with data generally available through the late 1990s. Since then, the set is being continually updated from the U.S. NOAA National Hurricane Center and the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center best track archives. For a complete history of updates for each ocean basin, see the dataset documentation.