The view that tropical cyclones disturb forests by breaking and uprooting trees is widely supported by studies focusing on the effects of a few exceptionally strong cyclones. Such a viewpoint may however limit our understanding of the impact of tropical cyclones in general. Changes in forest leaf area in East Asia were estimated by jointly analyzing the cyclone tracks, climate reanalysis and satellite-based leaf area of tropical cyclones. Sixty days following their passage ~15% of the cyclones resulted in a decrease in leaf area and ~50 % showed no change in leaf area. Surprisingly, in nearly one-third of the cyclones, an increase (or a reduced decrease) in leaf area was observed. Further analysis revealed that cyclones bringing abundant precipitation towards the end of the summer could relieve water stress for the vegetation within the cyclone track whereas the vegetation outside the track might continue to suffer until the start of the next wet season. The finding that a third of the tropical cyclones in East Asia facilitate recovery of forest leaf area from dry spells urges refining the present-day bias of cyclones as agents of destruction toward a more nuanced vision that recognizes that cyclones could also have little or even positive effects on forest growth. Link