Strongest Tropical Cyclones Worldwide by Wind Speed

About This Dataset

This chart ranks the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded worldwide by peak one-minute sustained wind speed, in km/h. Hurricane Patricia holds the global record for the highest sustained winds ever observed.

✨ AI Insight

Hurricane Patricia, which struck the eastern Pacific in 2015, set the global record with peak sustained winds of 345 km/h, roughly 30 km/h faster than any other storm ever measured. Behind it sits a tight cluster of Pacific super typhoons, Haiyan (2013), Meranti (2016), Goni (2020) and Surigae (2021), all reaching 315 km/h. Typhoon Tip (1979) follows at 306 km/h and remains the record-holder for the largest and lowest-pressure cyclone ever recorded. A clear pattern stands out: nearly every entry formed in the western or eastern Pacific, whose vast expanses of warm water give cyclones more room and energy to intensify than the smaller Atlantic basin. The narrow spread among the top storms, all between 306 and 345 km/h, suggests these winds may be near the practical upper limit for tropical cyclones on Earth.

Source: List of the most intense tropical cyclones

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Patricia (2015) leads with 345 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 319 · median: 315.

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Gap in All Time: Patricia (2015) is 1.1× larger than Tip (1979).