Hurricane History Map

Vanuatu storm history

138 storms have passed within 50 km of Vanuatu from 1923 to 2026, 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 Vanuatu

The record holds 138 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Vanuatu between 1923 and 2026. The busiest month is February, with 38 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 47 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 138storms within 50 km
  • 12major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 34at 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 Vanuatu?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression129%
Tropical storm4533%
Category 11410%
Category 286%
Category 354%
Category 454%
Category 521%
Unknown intensity4734%

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

Vanuatu storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 21 in 1980s.1920s31940s121950s131960s181970s201980s211990s202000s102010s102020s11

The 2020s only run to 2026, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1923, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1920s3
1940s12
1950s13
1960s18
1970s20
1980s21
1990s20
2000s10
2010s10
2020s11

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 38 in Feb.Jan35Feb38Mar33Apr11May4Jun1Jul0Aug0Sep0Oct1Nov6Dec9
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan35
Feb38
Mar33
Apr11
May4
Jun1
Jul0
Aug0
Sep0
Oct1
Nov6
Dec9

Strongest storms near Vanuatu

  • Pam (2015)7 March 2015 to 20 March 2015, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 896 hPa
  • Harold (2020)1 April 2020 to 11 April 2020, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 920 hPa
  • Fran (1992)4 March 1992 to 21 March 1992, Category 4 (135 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 920 hPa
  • Kevin (2023)27 February 2023 to 8 March 2023, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 913 hPa
  • Anne (1988)5 January 1988 to 14 January 1988, Category 4 (130 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 925 hPa
  • Prema (1993)24 March 1993 to 6 April 1993, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 975 hPa

Most recent storms near Vanuatu

  • Urmil (2026)26 February 2026 to 2 March 2026, peak Category 1 (64 kt), 980 hPa, provisional
  • Tam (2025)14 April 2025 to 19 April 2025, peak Tropical storm (51 kt), 977 hPa, provisional
  • Unnamed storm of January 2024 (South Pacific and Australian region)31 January 2024 to 13 February 2024, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 995 hPa
  • Lola (2024)19 October 2023 to 26 October 2023, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Kevin (2023)27 February 2023 to 8 March 2023, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 913 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.

Vanuatu ranks number 25 among countries and territories for the number of storms.

Notable storms near Vanuatu with their own pages

  • Pam (2015)7 March 2015 to 20 March 2015, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 896 hPa
  • Harold (2020)1 April 2020 to 11 April 2020, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 920 hPa
  • Fran (1992)4 March 1992 to 21 March 1992, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 920 hPa
  • Kevin (2023)27 February 2023 to 8 March 2023, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 913 hPa
  • Anne (1988)5 January 1988 to 14 January 1988, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 925 hPa
  • Prema (1993)24 March 1993 to 6 April 1993, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 975 hPa
  • Lola (2024)19 October 2023 to 26 October 2023, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Judy (2023)24 February 2023 to 5 March 2023, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 940 hPa
  • Bola (1988)23 February 1988 to 11 March 1988, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 940 hPa
  • Ivy (2004)21 February 2004 to 2 March 2004, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 935 hPa
  • Zuman (1998)28 March 1998 to 10 April 1998, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 955 hPa
  • Dani (1999)13 January 1999 to 29 January 1999, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 925 hPa

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