List of the most intense tropical cyclones

This is a list of the most intense tropical cyclones as measured by minimum atmospheric pressure at sea level. Although maximum sustained winds are often used to measure intensity as they commonly cause notable impacts over large areas, and most popular tropical cyclone scales are organized around sustained wind speeds, variations in the averaging period of winds in different basins make inter-comparison difficult. In addition, other impacts like rainfall, storm surge, area of wind damage, and tornadoes can vary significantly in storms with similar wind speeds. The minimum central pressure at sea level is often used to compare tropical cyclones because the measurements are easier and use consistent methodology worldwide, in contrast to difficult-to-estimate maximum sustained winds whose measurement methods vary widely. Tropical cyclones can attain some of the lowest pressures over large areas on Earth. However, although there is a strong connection between lowered pressures and higher wind speeds, storms with the lowest pressures may not have the highest wind speeds, as each storm's relationship between wind and pressure is slightly different.

In the most recent and reliable records, most tropical cyclones which attained a pressure of 900 hPa (mbar) (26.56 inHg) or less have occurred in the Western North Pacific Ocean. The strongest tropical cyclone recorded worldwide, as measured by minimum central pressure, was Typhoon Tip, which reached a pressure of on October 12, 1979. Furthermore, on October 23, 2015, Hurricane Patricia attained the strongest sustained winds on record at .

Data for the most intense tropical cyclones globally are provided below, then subdivided by basin. Data listed are provided by the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre, unless otherwise noted.

North Atlantic Ocean

The most intense storm in the North Atlantic by lowest pressure was Hurricane Wilma. The strongest storms by 1-minute sustained winds were Hurricane Allen and Hurricane Melissa.

Storms which reached a minimum central pressure of or less are listed. Storm information has been compiled back to 1851, though measurements were rarer until aircraft reconnaissance started in the 1940s, and inexact estimates were still predominant until dropsondes were implemented in the 1970s.

Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 1-minsustained winds Pressure "Cuba" 1924 "Cuba" 1932 "Labor Day" 1935 "Great Atlantic" 1944 Janet 1955 Esther 1961 Hattie 1961 Camille 1969 Allen 1980 Gloria 1985 Gilbert 1988 Hugo 1989 Opal 1995 Mitch 1998 Isabel 2003 Ivan 2004 Katrina 2005 Rita 2005 Wilma 2005 Dean 2007 Irma 2017 Maria 2017 Michael 2018 Dorian 2019 Iota2020 Milton2024 Erin2025 Humberto2025Melissa2025 Source: Atlantic Hurricane Best Track File 1851– (NHC)

Eastern Pacific Ocean

The most intense storm in the Eastern Pacific Ocean by both sustained winds and central pressure was Hurricane Patricia. Its sustained winds of are also the highest on record globally.

Storms with a minimum central pressure of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1949, and most storms since are only estimated because landfalls (and related reconnaissance) are less common in this basin.

Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 1-minsustained winds Pressure Ava 1973 Annette 1976 Trudy 1990 Gilma 1994 Olivia 1994 Guillermo 1997 Linda 1997 Juliette 2001 Elida 2002 Hernan 2002 Kenna 2002 Ioke 2006 Rick 2009 Celia 2010 Marie 2014 Odile 2014 Patricia 2015 Walaka 2018 Willa 2018 Otis 2023 Genevieve 2026 Lowell 2026 Polo 2026 Source: East Pacific Hurricane Best Track File 1949– (NHC)

Western Pacific Ocean

The most intense storm by lowest pressure and peak 10-minute sustained winds was Typhoon Tip, which was also the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in terms of minimum central pressure.

Storms with a minimum pressure of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1950.

Cyclone Year Peak classification Peak 10-minsustained winds Pressure Unnamed 1927 Allyn 1949 Clara 1950 Marge 1951 Wilma 1952 Nina 1953 Ida 1954 Ida 1958 Vera 1959 Joan 1959 Nancy 1961 Violet 1961 Emma 1962 Karen 1962 Sally 1964 Wilda 1964 Opal 1964 Kit 1966 Elsie 1969 Viola 1969 Hope 1970 Amy 1971 Irma 1971 Patsy 1973 Nora 1973 June 1975 Louise 1976 Rita 1978 Tip 1979 Wynne 1980 Elsie 1981 Mac 1982 Abby 1983 Forrest 1983 Marge 1983 Vanessa 1984 Dot 1985 Betty 1987 Flo 1990 Ruth 1991 Yuri 1991 Megi 2010 Haiyan 2013 Meranti 2016 Surigae 2021 Source: Western North Pacific Typhoon Best Track File 1951– (JMA)

North Indian Ocean

The most intense tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean by both sustained winds and central pressure was the 1999 Odisha cyclone, with 3-minute sustained winds of and a minimum pressure of .

Storms with an intensity of or less are listed.

Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 3-minsustained winds Pressure Two 1963 Three 1963 1977 Andhra Pradesh 1977 Unnamed 1978 1978 Sri Lanka 1978 Unnamed 1979 BOB 01 1982 Gay 1989 1990 Andhra Pradesh 1990 1991 Bangladesh 1991 1994 BOB 02 1994 1999 Pakistan 1999 1999 Odisha 1999 2001 Gujarat 2001 Gonu 2007 Sidr 2007 Giri 2010 Phailin 2013 Hudhud 2014 Nilofar 2014 Chapala 2015 Fani 2019 Kyarr 2019 Amphan 2020 Tauktae 2021 Mocha 2023

South-West Indian Ocean

The most intense tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean was Cyclone Gafilo. By 10-minute sustained wind speed, the strongest tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean was Cyclone Fantala.

Storms with an intensity of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1985.

Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 10-minsustained winds Pressure Chris–Damia1981–82Geralda1993–94Litanne1993–94Marlene1994–95Bonita1995–96Daniella1996–97Hudah1999–2000Dina2001–02Guillaume2001–02Hary2001–02Kalunde2002–03Gafilo2003–04Adeline–Juliet2004–05Bento2004–05Carina2005–06Hondo2007–08Edzani2009–10Bruce2013–14Colin2013–14Hellen2013–14Bansi2014–15Eunice2014–15Fantala2015–16Djoungou2023–24

Australian region

The most intense tropical cyclone(s) in the Australian Region were cyclones Gwenda and Inigo. By 10-minute sustained wind speed, the strongest were Cyclone Orson, Cyclone Monica and Cyclone Marcus.

Storms with an intensity of or less are listed. Storm information was less reliably documented and recorded before 1985. Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 10-minsustained winds Pressure Mahina 1898–99 Joan 1975–76 Amy 1979–80 Kathy 1983–84 Orson 1988–89 Graham 1991–92 Rewa 1993–94 Theodore 1993–94 Chloe 1994–95 Pancho-Helinda 1996–97 Thelma 1998–99 Vance 1998–99 Frederic-Evrina 1998–99 Gwenda 1998–99 John 1999–2000 Paul 1999–2000 Chris 2001–02 Inigo 2002–03 Fay 2003–04 Floyd 2005–06 Glenda 2005–06 Monica 2005–06 George 2006–07 Marcus 2017–18 Darian 2022–23 Ilsa 2022–23 Source: Database of past tropical cyclone tracks (BOM)

South Pacific Ocean

A total of 16 cyclones are listed down below reaching/surpassing an intensity of 920 hPa (27.17 inHg), with most of them occurring during El Niño seasons. Tropical cyclones that have been recorded since the start of the 1969–70 Tropical Cyclone year and have reached their peak intensity to the west of 160E are included in the list. The most intense tropical cyclone in the south Pacific, Cyclone Winston of 2016, is also the most intense storm in the Southern Hemisphere.

Storms with an intensity of or less are listed. Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 10-minsustained winds Pressure Oscar 1982–83 Hina 1984–85 Fran 1991–92 Ron 1997–98 Susan 1997–98 Beni 2002–03 Dovi 2002–03 Erica 2002–03 Zoe 2002–03 Heta 2003–04 Meena 2004–05 Olaf 2004–05 Percy 2004–05 Ului 2009–10 Pam 2014–15 Winston 2015–16 Harold 2019–20 Yasa 2020–21 Kevin 2022–23

South Atlantic Ocean

Until recently, it was not known that tropical cyclones could exist in the southern Atlantic. However, Hurricane Catarina in 2004, to date the only hurricane in the south Atlantic, brought additional review. A subsequent study found that there was an average of 1–2 subtropical or tropical cyclones per year in the Southern Atlantic in recent decades. No official database of South Atlantic cyclones exists, but a partial list of notable tropical and subtropical systems is listed. Cyclone Season Peak classification Peak 1-minsustained winds Pressure Unnamed 1991 Catarina 2004 Anita 2010 Arani 2011 Bapo 2015 Cari 2015 Deni 2016 Eçaí 2016 Guará 2017 Iba 2019 Jaguar 2019 Kurumí 2020 Mani 2020 Oquira 2020 01Q 2021 Potira 2021 Raoni 2021 Ubá 2021 Yakecan 2022 Akará 2024 Biguá 2024 Caiobá 2026

List of the most intense tropical cyclones

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