Hurricane History Map

France storm history

254 storms have passed within 50 km of France from 1848 to 2025, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near France

The record holds 254 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of France between 1848 and 2025. The busiest month is August, with 51 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 121 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 254storms within 50 km
  • 17major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 49at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near France?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression177%
Tropical storm6726%
Category 1187%
Category 2146%
Category 3104%
Category 462%
Category 51<1%
Unknown intensity12148%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

France storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 23 in 1900s.1840s1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2025, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1848, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1840s1
1850s12
1860s13
1870s9
1880s14
1890s15
1900s23
1910s15
1920s12
1930s18
1940s16
1950s15
1960s16
1970s16
1980s19
1990s11
2000s7
2010s14
2020s8

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 51 in Aug.Jan41Feb32Mar26Apr14May0Jun2Jul11Aug51Sep45Oct13Nov4Dec15
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan41
Feb32
Mar26
Apr14
May0
Jun2
Jul11
Aug51
Sep45
Oct13
Nov4
Dec15

Strongest storms near France

  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1899 (North Atlantic)3 August 1899 to 4 September 1899, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1928 (North Atlantic)6 September 1928 to 21 September 1928, Category 4 (130 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 929 hPa
  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, Category 4 (125 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Category 4 (125 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Cleo (1964)20 August 1964 to 11 September 1964, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 938 hPa

Most recent storms near France

  • Garance (2025)23 February 2025 to 5 March 2025, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 947 hPa, provisional
  • Chido (2025)5 December 2024 to 17 December 2024, peak Category 4 (134 kt), 935 hPa, provisional
  • Ernesto (2024)11 August 2024 to 20 August 2024, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 967 hPa
  • Belal (2024)11 January 2024 to 23 January 2024, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 968 hPa
  • Tammy (2023)18 October 2023 to 31 October 2023, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 965 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

France ranks number 16 among countries and territories for the number of storms.

Notable storms near France with their own pages

  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa
  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Cleo (1964)20 August 1964 to 11 September 1964, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 938 hPa
  • Chido (2025)5 December 2024 to 17 December 2024, peak Category 4 (134 kt), 935 hPa, provisional
  • Inez (1966)21 September 1966 to 11 October 1966, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 927 hPa
  • Florine (1981)3 January 1981 to 11 January 1981, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Hollanda (1994)5 February 1994 to 15 February 1994, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 940 hPa
  • Bejisa (2014)27 December 2013 to 7 January 2014, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 950 hPa
  • Garance (2025)23 February 2025 to 5 March 2025, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 947 hPa, provisional
  • Georges (1998)15 September 1998 to 1 October 1998, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 937 hPa
  • Betsy (1956)9 August 1956 to 21 August 1956, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa

France regions

Regions (first-level divisions) that storms have come within 50 km of at least 5 times, most storms first.

RegionStormsStrongest near the region
La Réunion100Category 3
Guadeloupe70Category 5
Martinique65Category 5
Mayotte33Category 4

Other countries

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