Throughout 2008, 124 tropical cyclones have formed in bodies of water known as tropical cyclone basins. Of these, 83 have been named, by various weather agencies when they attained maximum sustained winds of . The strongest storm of the year was Typhoon Jangmi in the Western Pacific Ocean. The deadliest storm of the year was Cyclone Nargis, which caused devastating and castatrophic destruction in Myanmar with 138,373 fatalities. The costliest storm of the year was Hurricane Ike, which wreaked havoc thorough Cuba and Texas, with $38 billion (2008 USD) in damage. Throughout the year, 24 Category 3 tropical cyclones formed, including one Category 5 tropical cyclone in the year. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2008 (seven basins combined), as calculated by Colorado State University was 613.9 units.
Tropical cyclones are primarily monitored by a group of ten warning centres, which have been designated as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) by the World Meteorological Organization. These are the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Central Pacific Hurricane Center, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Météo-France, Indonesia's Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Papua New Guinea's National Weather Service, the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) as well as New Zealand's MetService. Other notable warning centres include the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), and the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center.
Global atmospheric and hydrological conditions
Summary
North Atlantic Ocean
Eastern Pacific Ocean
Western Pacific Ocean
North Indian Ocean
South-West Indian Ocean
January–June
July–December
Australian Region
January–June
July–December
South Pacific Ocean
January–June
July–December
Mediterranean Sea
In the Mediterranean Sea, there were 3 Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones formed, but they aren't well-documented. June 2008, August 2008, and September 2008,Jochen Kerkmann, Scott Bachmeier: Development of a tropical storm in the Mediterranean Sea (November 6–9, 2011) , Eumetsat December 4, 2008Miglietta et al. 2013, p. 2402 were the dates when they took shape. The damages, deaths, and the affected places are unknown.
Systems A total of 124 systems formed globally in the year with 83 of them causing significant damage, deaths, and/or setting records for their basin.
January
The month of January was moderately active, seeing eleven tropical cyclones develop, with five being named. Tropical Cyclone Elisa affected Tonga and Niue as a tropical cyclone on early January, whileSevere Tropical Cyclone Funa became the second strongest tropical cyclone during the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season, causing heavy flood and wind damage to Vanuatu. On the South-West Indian Ocean basin, 3 more systems formed on the South-West Indian Ocean basin: 07, Fame and Gula, which caused torrential rainfall and gusty winds to the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar. 08F, 09F, 11F, and Guna formed on the South Pacific basin, while 2 systems formed in the West Pacific basin: 01W and an unmonitored weak tropical depression.
+ Tropical cyclones formed in January 2008 Storm name Dates active Max windkm/h (mph) Pressure(hPa) Areas affected Damage(USD) Deaths Refs07January 6–835 (25)1003RéunionNoneNoneElisaJanuary 7–11 95 (60)980Fiji, TongaNoneNone08F January 9–14 45 (30) 998 Vanuatu, FijiNoneNone09F January 12–13 Not specified 999 Tonga None None01W January 13–18 55 (35) 1004 Philippines, Malaysia None None FunaJanuary 15–21 175 (110) 930 Vanuatu, Fiji, New Zealand UnknownNone11F January 19–24 75 (45) 999 TongaNoneNoneTD January 22–23 Not specified 1006 None None NoneFame January 22–February 1 130 (80)972Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Réunion$51 thousand 13Gula January 25–February 1 155 (100) 950 MauritiusNoneNoneGeneJanuary 26–February 6 155 (100) 945 Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu $35 million8
February
The month of February is tied with May as the second least active month in terms of formed systems with 7 tropical systems; however, 4 were named and developed hurricane-force winds and were classified as severe tropical cyclones. No tropical cyclones developed within the Northern Hemisphere, the fourth occurrence since 2005. Cyclone Hondo was the strongest and longest-lived tropical cyclone to develop during the 2007–08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, which affected Mauritius and Reunion. On the South-west Indian Ocean basin, one more system formed: Cyclone Ivan which devastated Madagascar as an intense tropical cyclone. On the Australian basin, 4 systems took shape: a tropical low, Nicholas, Ophelia, and 20P. On the South Pacific basin, 13F formed, which affected Cook Islands in its lifetime.
+ Tropical cyclones formed in February 2008 Storm name Dates active Max windkm/h (mph) Pressure(hPa) Areas affected Damage(USD) Deaths RefsHondo February 2–29 215 (130)915Mauritius, Réunion MinimalNoneLow (17S) February 4–10 55 (35) 990 None None Nonehttp://listserv.uiuc.edu/wa.cgi?A2=ind0802b&L=wx-tropl&T=0&P=30197Ivan February 5–27 185 (115) 930 Madagascar $30 million 93Nicholas February 10–20 130 (80) 956 Western Australia None NoneTropical Cyclone Nicholas: High Seas Weather Warning at 0104UTC . Bureau of Meteorology (February 13, 2008). Retrieved February 14, 2008.A Thomson Reuters Foundation Service. AlertNet. Retrieved December 16, 2010.Exmouth prepares for Tropical Cyclone Nicholas – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Abc.net.au (February 18, 2008). Retrieved December 16, 2010.13F February 17–18 45 (30) 1008 Cook IslandsNone None Ophelia February 27–March 7 100 (65) 976 Northern Territory, Western Australia None None20PFebruary 29 55 (35)999NoneNoneNone
March
March is tied with April and June as the least active month, with just six tropical cyclones; however, four of them are named. Intense Tropical Cyclone Jokwe was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Mozambique since Cyclone Favio struck in the previous year, and was the most recent cyclone to make landfall on the same country until it was overtaken by Cyclone Dineo in 2017. 2 more systems formed in the southwest Indian Ocean basin: Kamba and Lola., with the latter affecting Mauritius. 14F formed on the South Pacific basin and brought little to none damages on New Caledonia, while Pancho formed on the Australian basin, affecting Christmas Island and Western Australia as a severe tropical cyclone. A tropical depression on the West Pacific was identified on March 26–27, affecting the Philippines.
+ Tropical cyclones formed in March 2008 Storm name Dates active Max windkm/h (mph) Pressure(hPa) Areas affected Damage(USD) Deaths RefsJokweMarch 2–16195 (120)940Madagascar, Mozambique$8 million16Kamba March 5–14185 (115)930 NoneNone None Lola March 18–27 65 (40) 994 Mauritius None None14F March 19–23 55 (35) 998 New Caledonia None NonePancho March 25–29 165 (105) 938 Christmas Island, Western Australia None None http://listserv.uiuc.edu/wa.cgi?A2=ind0803d&L=wx-tropl&T=0&P=73043 TD March 26–27 Not specified 1006 Philippines None None
April
The month of April is tied with March and June as the least active month, with just 6 systems developing; however, 4 are respectively named. Typhoon Neoguri was the earliest tropical cyclone on record to strike the mainland China, which left 26 deaths and over $65 million worth of damages to the said country. Also included here is Cyclone Nargis which is an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone, and became the third-costliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Indian Ocean, just after Cyclone Amphan in 2020 and Cyclone Senyar in 2025. It left an unconfirmed total of 138,373 deaths; mainly on Myanmar and $12.9 billion worth of damages. 2 depressions formed on the South Pacific basin and affected Vanuatu and New Caledonia: 15F and 16F. Rosie and Durga formed on the Australian region; bringing minor damages and rainfall on Christmas Island and Cocos Islands.
+ Tropical cyclones formed in April 2008 Storm name Dates active Max windkm/h (mph) Pressure(hPa) Areas affected Damage(USD) Deaths Refs15FApril 4 – 745 (30)1002Vanuatu, New CaledoniaNoneNoneNeoguri (Ambo)April 13 – 21150 (90)960Philippines, China$65 million2616FApril 16 – 1955 (35)998Vanuatu, New CaledoniaNoneNoneRosieApril 20 – 2495 (60)988Christmas IslandMinorNoneDurgaApril 20 – 2695 (60)984Cocos IslandsNoneNoneNargisApril 27 – May 3165 (150)962Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, China$12.9 billion≥138,373
May
The month of May was tied with February as the second-least active month, with seven systems developing; six of those being named. Included here is Typhoon Rammasun, which brought gusty rainfalls across eastern Philippines and paralleled on Japan before weakening. Matmo, a tropical depression, Nakri and Tropical Storm Halong also formed on the West Pacific, affecting Philippines, Japan, the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Alma formed on the East Pacific basin. As it dissipated over Central America, its remnants interacted with two tropical waves, subsequently forming Tropical Storm Arthur on the Atlantic, which worsened the situations on the place which Alma made landfall.
Storm name Dates active Max windkm/h (mph) Pressure(hPa) Areas affected Damage(USD) Deaths RefsRammasun (Butchoy) May 7 – 14195 (120)915Philippines, Japan$9.6 million4 Matmo (Dindo) May 14 – 1795 (60)992Philippines, JapanNoneNoneHalong (Cosme) May 14 – 20110 (70)970Philippines, Japan, Kamchatka Peninsula$100 million61 Nakri (Enteng) May 26 – June 3185 (115)930Mariana Islands, JapanNoneNoneTD May 27 – 28Not specified1006PhilippinesNoneNoneAlma May 29 – June 1100 (65)994Central America$35 million11Arthur May 31 – June 175 (45)1004Honduras, Belize, Mexico, Guatemala$78 million9
June
The month of June is tied with March and April for the most inactive month with 6 systems developing; however, 3 are named. Fengshen made a direct hit on the Philippines and China, causing severe damage and resulted in at least 1,371 deaths and leaving at least 87 people missing. Another unmonitored tropical depression struck Taiwan and affected South Korea on June 6. On the North Indian Ocean basin, ARB 01 and BOB 02 formed; bringing torrential rainfall and damages on Oman, India and Bangladesh. Boris and Cristina took shape on the East Pacific basin; however, they stayed well from the land. An unidentified medicane formed in June 2008, however, it was unknown.
+ Tropical cyclones formed in June 2008 Storm name Dates active Max windkm/h (mph) Pressure(hPa) Areas affected Damage(USD) Deaths RefsARB 01 June 5–745 (30)994OmanNoneNoneTD June 6Not specified1006Taiwan, Ryukyu IslandsNoneNoneBOB 02 June 16–1845 (30)988India, BangladeshUnknown54Fengshen (Frank) June 17–27165 (105)945Palau, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong$480 million 1,371Boris June 27 – July 480 (130)985NoneNoneNoneCristina June 27–3050 (85)999NoneNoneNoneJune 2008 MedicaneJune Not specifiedUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknown
July