This article documents all South Atlantic tropical cyclones that have been recorded. Tropical cyclone formation is rare in the South Atlantic due to multiple limiting factors, such as relatively low sea surface temperatures, strong wind shear typically being present across the basin, and a lack of disturbances from the intertropical convergence zone that could form into tropical cyclones. Due to this sheer rarity, South Atlantic tropical cyclones weren’t recorded until the 1970s, as weather and satellite technology at the time weren't advanced enough to detect the majority of these systems. Since 2011, South Atlantic tropical cyclones have been assigned names from a list of names provided by the Brazilian Navy.

Summary

Pre–2000 According to a presentation at the Sixth WMO International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (IWTC-VI), satellite imagery from January 1970 showed that a system with an eyewall had developed behind a cold front and that the system needed further analysis to determine if it was tropical or subtropical.

On 27 March 1974, a weak area of low pressure that had originated over the Amazon River started to intensify further. Over the next 48 hours the system quickly developed further and was classified as subtropical, as it developed a banding structure and deep convection near its warm core. On 29 March, a north-westerly flow encroached on the systems environment, which caused the system to rapidly move towards 40S and the cold waters that were present to the south of 40°S.

On April 10, 1991, a low-pressure system formed off the coast of Angola, which developed into a tropical depression on the 11th. By the morning of April 12, the cyclone had intensified into a tropical storm, reaching its peak intensity on the 13th. On the 15th, it weakened to a tropical depression, which eventually weakened to a remnant low and dissipated on the 16th. This tropical storm moved generally from east to west in a U-shaped trajectory and is the only tropical cyclone recorded in the satellite era in the southeastern Atlantic.

In March 1994, a system was spawned but was located over cool and open waters.

According to the Zambia Meteorological Department, Cyclone Bonita moved off the coast of Angola and entered the South Atlantic Ocean on 19 January 1996. By the next day, the system had succumbed to cold waters and days of land interaction, dissipating completely. It was the first tropical cyclone known to have traversed southern Africa from the South-West Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic.

2000–2009

During 2004, the large-scale conditions over the South Atlantic were more conducive than usual for subtropical or tropical systems, with 4 systems noted. The first possible tropical cyclone developed within a trough of low pressure, to the southeast of Salvador, Brazil on 18 January. The system subsequently displayed a small central dense overcast (CDO) and was suspected to have peaked in intensity as a tropical depression the next day. There was some consensus amongst researchers that this system may have acquired tropical storm-force winds, yet this still remains unclear. The system was subsequently affected by some strong shear, before it moved inland and weakened along the coast of Brazil before it was last noted during 21 January. Within Brazil the system caused heavy rain and flooding with a state of emergency declared in Aracaju, after the river overflowed and burst its banks which flooded homes, destroyed crops and caused parts of the highway to collapse. However, it was noted that not all of the heavy rain and impacts were attributable to the system, as a large monsoon low covered much of Brazil at the time. The system was unofficially dubbed "Samba" by researchers communicating about the system, named after a popular genre of Brazilian music. The second system was a possible hybrid cyclone that developed near south-eastern Brazil between 15 and 16 March. Hurricane Catarina was the third system, while the fourth system formed off the coast of Brazil on 15 May 2004.

Cyclone Catarina was an extraordinarily rare hurricane-strength tropical cyclone, forming in the southern Atlantic Ocean in March 2004. Soon after becoming a hurricane, it hit the southern coast of Brazil in the state of Santa Catarina on the evening of 28 March, with winds up to making it a Category 2-equivalent cyclone on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale.Per IBTRACS best track data Catarina killed 3 to 11 people and caused millions of dollars in damage in Brazil. At the time, Brazilians were taken completely by surprise, and were initially skeptical that an actual tropical cyclone could have formed in the South Atlantic. Eventually, however, they were convinced, and adopted the previously unofficial name "Catarina" for the storm, after Santa Catarina state. This event is considered by some meteorologists to be a nearly once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

On 22 February 2006, a baroclinic cyclone intensified quickly and was estimated to have peaked with 1-minute sustained wind speeds of , after radar data showed that the system had developed an eye and banding. However, there were questions about how tropical the system was, as it did not separate from the westerlies or the baroclinic zone it was in. Between 11 and 17 March 2006, another system with a warm core developed and moved southward along the South Atlantic Zone, before dissipating.

Two subtropical cyclones affected both Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil between 2009 and 2010. On 28 January 2009, "a cold-core mid to upper-level trough was in phase with a low-level warm-core low", which formed a system and moved eastward into the South Atlantic. According to a summary, "The storm produced rainfall in 24 hours of or more in some locations of Rocha (Uruguay) and southern Rio Grande do Sul." The weather station owned by MetSul Weather Center in Morro Redondo, Southern Brazil, recorded in a 24-hour period. The storm caused fourteen deaths and the evacuation of thousands, with an emergency declared in four cities. It lasted until 1 February, when the cyclone became extratropical.

2010s

Tropical Storm Anita

On 8 March 2010, a previously extratropical cyclone developed tropical characteristics and was classified as a subtropical cyclone off the coast of southern Brazil. The following day, the United States Naval Research Laboratory began monitoring the system as a system of interest under the designation of 90Q. The National Hurricane Center also began monitoring the system as Low SL90. During the afternoon of 9 March, the system had attained an intensity of and a barometric pressure of 1000 hPa (mbar). It was declared a tropical storm on 10 March and became extratropical late on 12 March. Anita's accumulated cyclone energy was estimated at 2.0525 by the Florida State University. There was no damage associated to the storm, except high sea in the coasts of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Post mortem, the cyclone was given the name "Anita" by private and public weather centers in Southern Brazil.

Subtropical Storm Arani

Early on 14 March 2011, the Navy Hydrographic Center-Brazilian Navy (SMM), in coordination with the National Institute of Meteorology, were monitoring an organizing area of convection near the southeast coast of Brazil. Later that day a low-pressure area developed just east of Vitória, Espírito Santo, and by 12:00 UTC, the system organized into a subtropical depression, located about east of Campos dos Goytacazes. Guided by a trough and a weak ridge to its north, the system moved slowly southeastward over an area of warm waters, intensifying into Subtropical Cyclone Arani on 15 March, as named by the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center, and achieving its lowest pressure. The storm was classified as subtropical, as the convection was east of the center. On 16 March, Arani began experiencing of wind shear because another frontal system bumped it from behind. As it moved east-southeastwards, it achieved its highest winds as it transitioned back to an extratropical cyclone, process that was concluded on early 17 March.

Before it developed into a subtropical cyclone, Arani produced torrential rains over portions of southeastern Brazil, resulting in flash flooding and landslides. Significant damage was reported in portions of Espírito Santo, though specifics are unknown. Increased swells along the coast prompted ocean travel warnings.

Subtropical Depression #01-2015

On late 22 January 2015, instability areas formed well south of the state of Rio de Janeiro, associated with a trough attached with a low-pressure area active on the region. Early on the next day, over a region with anomalous warm sea surface temperatures, convection organized over a low-level center of circulation, which achieved its peak intensity of . Shortly after the system was declared a subtropical depression, about to the southeast of São Paulo, Brazil.

For the rest of the day, the storm moved south and then turned southwestward, until it lost its subtropical characteristics over high seas on the next day, becoming a remnant low about to the east of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The Brazilian Navy noted in its post-season analysis that on early and mid 23 January the radiometer built into the AMSR-2 satellite found winds of 35 to 40 knots, which could led to the system been upgraded into a subtropical storm, but it didn't happen because no other measurement confirmed such findings.

Subtropical Storm Bapo

On 5 February 2015, a subtropical depression developed about to the southeast of São Paulo, Brazil. During the next day, low-level baroclinity decreased around the system, as it moved southeastwards away from the Brazilian coast and into anomalously warm waters, where it intensified further. The system was named Bapo by the Brazilian Navy Hydrography Center during 6 February as it had intensified into a subtropical storm. Over the next couple of days the system continued to move south-eastwards, achieving its peak intensity just before it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone during 8 February.

Subtropical Storm Cari

On 10 March 2015, the Hydrographic Center of the Brazilian Navy began issuing warnings on Subtropical Depression 3 during early afternoon, while the Center for Weather Forecast and Climatic Studies (CPTEC in Portuguese) already assigned the name Cari for the storm. At 00:00 UTC on 11 March, the Hydrographic Center of the Brazilian Navy upgraded Cari to a subtropical storm, also assigning this name to it. On 12 March, the Brazilian Hydrographic Center downgraded Cari to a subtropical depression as it achieved its lowest pressure, while the CPTEC stated that the storm had become a "Hybrid cyclone" as it moved away from the continental coastline. During early afternoon of 13 March, the Brazilian Navy declared that Cari became a remnant low.

Cari brought heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides to eastern cities of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states as it interacted with a South Atlantic Convergence Zone. Rain totals from were observed associated with the storms and wind topped in Cabo de Santa Marta. A Navy buoy registered a wave off the coast of Santa Catarina.

Subtropical Depression #01-2016

On 5 January 2016, the Hydrographic Center of the Brazilian Navy declared that a subtropical depression that formed from a dissipating extratropical cyclone, east of Vitória, Espírito Santo. On the next day, while shfting from a westward movement to a southward one, other agencies considered the system an invest for possible tropical transition, designating it as 90Q. However, on 7 January, the system degenerated into a remnant low east of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Subtropical Storm Deni