Somalia storm history

15 storms have passed within 50 km of Somalia from 1945 to 2020, 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 Somalia

The record holds 15 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Somalia between 1945 and 2020. The busiest month is November, with 5 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 4 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 15storms within 50 km
  • 1major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 2at 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 Somalia?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression17%
Tropical storm853%
Category 117%
Category 200%
Category 317%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity427%

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

Somalia storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 2010s.1940s11970s31980s11990s32000s12010s52020s1

The 2020s only run to 2020, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1945, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1940s1
1970s3
1980s1
1990s3
2000s1
2010s5
2020s1

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 5 in Nov.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun0Jul0Aug0Sep0Oct4Nov5Dec5
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun0
Jul0
Aug0
Sep0
Oct4
Nov5
Dec5

Strongest storms near Somalia

  • Gati (2020)20 November 2020 to 24 November 2020, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 976 hPa
  • Megh (2015)4 November 2015 to 10 November 2015, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 964 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of November 1984 (North Indian)27 November 1984 to 8 December 1984, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of December 1992 (North Indian)18 December 1992 to 24 December 1992, peak Tropical storm (50 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of November 1994 (North Indian)13 November 1994 to 20 November 1994, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 984 hPa
  • Pawan (2019)30 November 2019 to 7 December 2019, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 998 hPa

Most recent storms near Somalia

  • Gati (2020)20 November 2020 to 24 November 2020, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 976 hPa
  • Pawan (2019)30 November 2019 to 7 December 2019, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 998 hPa
  • Vardah (2016)6 December 2016 to 19 December 2016, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 975 hPa
  • Megh (2015)4 November 2015 to 10 November 2015, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 964 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of November 2013 (North Indian)6 November 2013 to 12 November 2013, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,000 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 Somalia with their own pages

  • Gati (2020)20 November 2020 to 24 November 2020, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 976 hPa
  • Megh (2015)4 November 2015 to 10 November 2015, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 964 hPa

Other countries

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