Hurricane History Map

Palau storm history

105 storms have passed within 50 km of Palau from 1885 to 2023, 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 Palau

The record holds 105 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Palau between 1885 and 2023. The busiest month is December, with 19 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 36 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 105storms within 50 km
  • 6major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 9at 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 Palau?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression4139%
Tropical storm1918%
Category 133%
Category 200%
Category 31<1%
Category 433%
Category 522%
Unknown intensity3634%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (western Pacific).

Palau storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 20 in 1990s.1880s11910s41920s21930s71940s121950s111960s61970s101980s71990s202000s72010s112020s7

The 2020s only run to 2023, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1885, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1880s1
1910s4
1920s2
1930s7
1940s12
1950s11
1960s6
1970s10
1980s7
1990s20
2000s7
2010s11
2020s7

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 19 in Dec.Jan9Feb4Mar8Apr14May8Jun6Jul7Aug1Sep3Oct9Nov17Dec19
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan9
Feb4
Mar8
Apr14
May8
Jun6
Jul7
Aug1
Sep3
Oct9
Nov17
Dec19

Strongest storms near Palau

  • Haiyan (2013)2 November 2013 to 11 November 2013, peak Category 5 (170 kt), 895 hPa
  • Mike (1990)6 November 1990 to 18 November 1990, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 915 hPa
  • Bopha (2012)25 November 2012 to 9 December 2012, Category 4 (135 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 930 hPa
  • Gilda (1959)11 December 1959 to 22 December 1959, Category 4 (120 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 925 hPa
  • Louise:marge (1964)14 November 1964 to 26 November 1964, Category 4 (115 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (165 kt), 915 hPa
  • Flora (1947)12 November 1947 to 19 November 1947, peak Category 3 (110 kt)

Most recent storms near Palau

  • Jelawat (2023)14 December 2023 to 18 December 2023, peak Tropical depression (30 kt), 1,000 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of November 2023 (Western North Pacific)9 November 2023 to 17 November 2023, Unknown intensity near here, peak Tropical depression (25 kt), 996 hPa
  • Banyan (2022)28 October 2022 to 3 November 2022, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,002 hPa
  • Rai (2021)11 December 2021 to 21 December 2021, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 915 hPa
  • Dujuan (2021)14 February 2021 to 23 February 2021, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 996 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.

Notable storms near Palau with their own pages

  • Haiyan (2013)2 November 2013 to 11 November 2013, peak Category 5 (170 kt), 895 hPa
  • Mike (1990)6 November 1990 to 18 November 1990, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 915 hPa
  • Bopha (2012)25 November 2012 to 9 December 2012, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 930 hPa
  • Gilda (1959)11 December 1959 to 22 December 1959, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 925 hPa
  • Louise:marge (1964)14 November 1964 to 26 November 1964, peak Category 5 (165 kt), 915 hPa
  • Flora (1947)12 November 1947 to 19 November 1947, peak Category 3 (110 kt)
  • Marie (1976)1 April 1976 to 16 April 1976, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 930 hPa
  • Rai (2021)11 December 2021 to 21 December 2021, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 915 hPa
  • Therese (1972)30 November 1972 to 12 December 1972, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 945 hPa
  • Susan (1969)15 April 1969 to 26 April 1969, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 940 hPa
  • Lucy (1962)23 November 1962 to 1 December 1962, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 975 hPa
  • Shirley (1957)11 April 1957 to 18 April 1957, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 975 hPa

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